Consistent Interface for Appointment Activity Business Object

ABSTRACT

A business object model, which reflects data that is used during a given business transaction, is utilized to generate interfaces. This business object model facilitates commercial transactions by providing consistent interfaces that are suitable for use across industries, across businesses, and across different departments within a business during a business transaction. In some operations, software creates, updates, or otherwise processes information related to an appointment activity business object.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Some details of the subject matter of this specification are describedin previously-filed U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/803,178,entitled “Consistent Set of Interfaces Derived From a Business ObjectModel”, filed on May 11, 2007, which is hereby incorporated byreference.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The subject matter described herein relates generally to the generationand use of consistent interfaces (or services) derived from a businessobject model. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to thegeneration and use of consistent interfaces or services that aresuitable for use across industries, across businesses, and acrossdifferent departments within a business.

BACKGROUND

Transactions are common among businesses and between businessdepartments within a particular business. During any given transaction,these business entities exchange information. For example, during asales transaction, numerous business entities may be involved, such as asales entity that sells merchandise to a customer, a financialinstitution that handles the financial transaction, and a warehouse thatsends the merchandise to the customer. The end-to-end businesstransaction may require a significant amount of information to beexchanged between the various business entities involved. For example,the customer may send a request for the merchandise as well as some formof payment authorization for the merchandise to the sales entity, andthe sales entity may send the financial institution a request for atransfer of funds from the customer's account to the sales entity'saccount.

Exchanging information between different business entities is not asimple task. This is particularly true because the information used bydifferent business entities is usually tightly tied to the businessentity itself. Each business entity may have its own program forhandling its part of the transaction. These programs differ from eachother because they typically are created for different purposes andbecause each business entity may use semantics that differ from theother business entities. For example, one program may relate toaccounting, another program may relate to manufacturing, and a thirdprogram may relate to inventory control. Similarly, one program mayidentify merchandise using the name of the product while another programmay identify the same merchandise using its model number. Further, onebusiness entity may use U.S. dollars to represent its currency whileanother business entity may use Japanese Yen. A simple difference informatting, e.g., the use of upper-case lettering rather than lower-caseor title-case, makes the exchange of information between businesses adifficult task. Unless the individual businesses agree upon particularsemantics, human interaction typically is required to facilitatetransactions between these businesses. Because these “heterogeneous”programs are used by different companies or by different business areaswithin a given company, a need exists for a consistent way to exchangeinformation and perform a business transaction between the differentbusiness entities.

Currently, many standards exist that offer a variety of interfaces usedto exchange business information. Most of these interfaces, however,apply to only one specific industry and are not consistent between thedifferent standards. Moreover, a number of these interfaces are notconsistent within an individual standard.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect, a computer-readable medium includes program code forproviding a message-based interface for exchanging information aboutappointment activities. The medium comprises program code for receiving,via a message-based interface exposing at least one service as definedin a service registry and from a heterogeneous application executing inan environment of computer systems providing message-based services, afirst message for requesting to maintain an appointment activity bundle,including information about planned and unplanned activities maintainedin a calendar of an employee of a company, the information includinginformation about external appointments and scheduled meetings withbusiness partners. The first message includes a message packagehierarchically organized as an appointment activity bundle maintainrequest sync message entity and an appointment activity packageincluding at least one appointment activity entity. Each appointmentactivity entity includes an organizer party entity. The medium furthercomprises program code for sending a second message to the heterogeneousapplication responsive to the first message.

Implementations can include the following. Each appointment activityentity further includes at least one of the following: a location nameentity, at least one attendee party entity, an employee responsibleparty entity, a main activity party entity, an activity unit partyentity, at least one business transaction document reference entity, atleast one text entity, an attachment folder entity, and at least onereference party. Each appointment activity entity further includes atleast one of the following: an object node sender technical identifier(ID), a change state ID, an ID, a universally unique identifier (UUID),a migrated data adaptation type code, a name, a priority code, aninitiator code, an information sensitivity code, a group code, a dataorigin type code, a life cycle status code, a start date time, an enddate time, a full day indicator, a completion date time, an activityfollow up service request blocking reason code, and a groupware item ID.

In another aspect, a distributed system operates in a landscape ofcomputer systems providing message-based services defined in a serviceregistry. The system comprises a graphical user interface comprisingcomputer readable instructions, embedded on tangible media, forrequesting to maintain an appointment activity bundle, includinginformation about planned and unplanned activities maintained in acalendar of an employee of a company, the information includinginformation about external appointments and scheduled meetings withbusiness partners, the instructions using a request. The system furthercomprises a first memory storing a user interface controller forprocessing the request and involving a message including a messagepackage hierarchically organized as an appointment activity bundlemaintain request sync message entity and an appointment activity packageincluding at least one appointment activity entity. Each appointmentactivity entity includes an organizer party entity. The system furthercomprises a second memory, remote from the graphical user interface,storing a plurality of service interfaces, wherein one of the serviceinterfaces is operable to process the message via the service interface.

Implementations can include the following. The first memory is remotefrom the graphical user interface. The first memory is remote from thesecond memory.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a flow diagram of the overall steps performed by methodsand systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 2 depicts a business document flow for an invoice request inaccordance with methods and systems consistent with the subject matterdescribed herein.

FIGS. 3A-B illustrate example environments implementing thetransmission, receipt, and processing of data between heterogeneousapplications in accordance with certain embodiments included in thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example application implementing certaintechniques and components in accordance with one embodiment of thesystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5A depicts an example development environment in accordance withone embodiment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 5B depicts a simplified process for mapping a model representationto a runtime representation using the example development environment ofFIG. 5A or some other development environment.

FIG. 6 depicts message categories in accordance with methods and systemsconsistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 7 depicts an example of a package in accordance with methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 8 depicts another example of a package in accordance with methodsand systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 9 depicts a third example of a package in accordance with methodsand systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 10 depicts a fourth example of a package in accordance with methodsand systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 11 depicts the representation of a package in the XML schema inaccordance with methods and systems consistent with the subject matterdescribed herein.

FIG. 12 depicts a graphical representation of cardinalities between twoentities in accordance with methods and systems consistent with thesubject matter described herein.

FIG. 13 depicts an example of a composition in accordance with methodsand systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 14 depicts an example of a hierarchical relationship in accordancewith methods and systems consistent with the subject matter describedherein.

FIG. 15 depicts an example of an aggregating relationship in accordancewith methods and systems consistent with the subject matter describedherein.

FIG. 16 depicts an example of an association in accordance with methodsand systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 17 depicts an example of a specialization in accordance withmethods and systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 18 depicts the categories of specializations in accordance withmethods and systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 19 depicts an example of a hierarchy in accordance with methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 20 depicts a graphical representation of a hierarchy in accordancewith methods and systems consistent with the subject matter describedherein.

FIGS. 21A-B depict a flow diagram of the steps performed to create abusiness object model in accordance with methods and systems consistentwith the subject matter described herein.

FIGS. 22A-F depict a flow diagram of the steps performed to generate aninterface from the business object model in accordance with methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 23 depicts an example illustrating the transmittal of a businessdocument in accordance with methods and systems consistent with thesubject matter described herein.

FIG. 24 depicts an interface proxy in accordance with methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 25 depicts an example illustrating the transmittal of a messageusing proxies in accordance with methods and systems consistent with thesubject matter described herein.

FIG. 26A depicts components of a message in accordance with methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 26B depicts IDs used in a message in accordance with methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIGS. 27A-E depict a hierarchization process in accordance with methodsand systems consistent with the subject matter described herein.

FIG. 28 illustrates an example method for service enabling in accordancewith one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 29 is a graphical illustration of an example business object andassociated components as may be used in the enterprise serviceinfrastructure system of the present disclosure.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example method for managing a process agentframework in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example method for status and action managementin accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 32-1 through 32-2 collectively depict an example AppointmentActivity object model.

FIGS. 33-1 through 33-2 collectively depict an example AppointmentActivity Bundle Maintain Request Sync message data type.

FIGS. 34-1 through 34-31 collectively depict an example AppointmentActivity Bundle Maintain Request Sync element structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A. Overview

Methods and systems consistent with the subject matter described hereinfacilitate e-commerce by providing consistent interfaces that aresuitable for use across industries, across businesses, and acrossdifferent departments within a business during a business transaction.To generate consistent interfaces, methods and systems consistent withthe subject matter described herein utilize a business object model,which reflects the data that will be used during a given businesstransaction. An example of a business transaction is the exchange ofpurchase orders and order confirmations between a buyer and a seller.The business object model is generated in a hierarchical manner toensure that the same type of data is represented the same way throughoutthe business object model. This ensures the consistency of theinformation in the business object model. Consistency is also reflectedin the semantic meaning of the various structural elements. That is,each structural element has a consistent business meaning. For example,the location entity, regardless of in which package it is located,refers to a location.

From this business object model, various interfaces are derived toaccomplish the functionality of the business transaction. Interfacesprovide an entry point for components to access the functionality of anapplication. For example, the interface for a Purchase Order Requestprovides an entry point for components to access the functionality of aPurchase Order, in particular, to transmit and/or receive a PurchaseOrder Request. One skilled in the art will recognize that each of theseinterfaces may be provided, sold, distributed, utilized, or marketed asa separate product or as a major component of a separate product.Alternatively, a group of related interfaces may be provided, sold,distributed, utilized, or marketed as a product or as a major componentof a separate product. Because the interfaces are generated from thebusiness object model, the information in the interfaces is consistent,and the interfaces are consistent among the business entities. Suchconsistency facilitates heterogeneous business entities in cooperatingto accomplish the business transaction.

Generally, the business object is a representation of a type of auniquely identifiable business entity (an object instance) described bya structural model. In the architecture, processes may typically operateon business objects. Business objects represent a specific view on somewell-defined business content. In other words, business objectsrepresent content, which a typical business user would expect andunderstand with little explanation. Business objects are furthercategorized as business process objects and master data objects. Amaster data object is an object that encapsulates master data (i.e.,data that is valid for a period of time). A business process object,which is the kind of business object generally found in a processcomponent, is an object that encapsulates transactional data (i.e., datathat is valid for a point in time). The term business object will beused generically to refer to a business process object and a master dataobject, unless the context requires otherwise. Properly implemented,business objects are implemented free of redundancies.

The architectural elements also include the process component. Theprocess component is a software package that realizes a business processand generally exposes its functionality as services. The functionalitycontains business transactions. In general, the process componentcontains one or more semantically related business objects. Often, aparticular business object belongs to no more than one processcomponent. Interactions between process component pairs involving theirrespective business objects, process agents, operations, interfaces, andmessages are described as process component interactions, whichgenerally determine the interactions of a pair of process componentsacross a deployment unit boundary. Interactions between processcomponents within a deployment unit are typically not constrained by thearchitectural design and can be implemented in any convenient fashion.Process components may be modular and context-independent. In otherwords, process components may not be specific to any particularapplication and as such, may be reusable. In some implementations, theprocess component is the smallest (most granular) element of reuse inthe architecture. An external process component is generally used torepresent the external system in describing interactions with theexternal system; however, this should be understood to require no moreof the external system than that able to produce and receive messages asrequired by the process component that interacts with the externalsystem. For example, process components may include multiple operationsthat may provide interaction with the external system. Each operationgenerally belongs to one type of process component in the architecture.Operations can be synchronous or asynchronous, corresponding tosynchronous or asynchronous process agents, which will be describedbelow. The operation is often the smallest, separately-callablefunction, described by a set of data types used as input, output, andfault parameters serving as a signature.

The architectural elements may also include the service interface,referred to simply as the interface. The interface is a named group ofoperations. The interface often belongs to one process component andprocess component might contain multiple interfaces. In oneimplementation, the service interface contains only inbound or outboundoperations, but not a mixture of both. One interface can contain bothsynchronous and asynchronous operations. Normally, operations of thesame type (either inbound or outbound) which belong to the same messagechoreography will belong to the same interface. Thus, generally, alloutbound operations to the same other process component are in oneinterface.

The architectural elements also include the message. Operations transmitand receive messages. Any convenient messaging infrastructure can beused. A message is information conveyed from one process componentinstance to another, with the expectation that activity will ensue.Operation can use multiple message types for inbound, outbound, or errormessages. When two process components are in different deployment units,invocation of an operation of one process component by the other processcomponent is accomplished by the operation on the other processcomponent sending a message to the first process component.

The architectural elements may also include the process agent. Processagents do business processing that involves the sending or receiving ofmessages. Each operation normally has at least one associated processagent. Each process agent can be associated with one or more operations.Process agents can be either inbound or outbound and either synchronousor asynchronous. Asynchronous outbound process agents are called after abusiness object changes such as after a “create”, “update”, or “delete”of a business object instance. Synchronous outbound process agents aregenerally triggered directly by business object. An outbound processagent will generally perform some processing of the data of the businessobject instance whose change triggered the event. The outbound agenttriggers subsequent business process steps by sending messages usingwell-defined outbound services to another process component, whichgenerally will be in another deployment unit, or to an external system.The outbound process agent is linked to the one business object thattriggers the agent, but it is sent not to another business object butrather to another process component. Thus, the outbound process agentcan be implemented without knowledge of the exact business object designof the recipient process component. Alternatively, the process agent maybe inbound. For example, inbound process agents may be used for theinbound part of a message-based communication. Inbound process agentsare called after a message has been received. The inbound process agentstarts the execution of the business process step requested in a messageby creating or updating one or multiple business object instances.Inbound process agent is not generally the agent of business object butof its process component. Inbound process agent can act on multiplebusiness objects in a process component. Regardless of whether theprocess agent is inbound or outbound, an agent may be synchronous ifused when a process component requires a more or less immediate responsefrom another process component, and is waiting for that response tocontinue its work.

The architectural elements also include the deployment unit. Eachdeployment unit may include one or more process components that aregenerally deployed together on a single computer system platform.Conversely, separate deployment units can be deployed on separatephysical computing systems. The process components of one deploymentunit can interact with those of another deployment unit using messagespassed through one or more data communication networks or other suitablecommunication channels. Thus, a deployment unit deployed on a platformbelonging to one business can interact with a deployment unit softwareentity deployed on a separate platform belonging to a different andunrelated business, allowing for business-to-business communication.More than one instance of a given deployment unit can execute at thesame time, on the same computing system or on separate physicalcomputing systems. This arrangement allows the functionality offered bythe deployment unit to be scaled to meet demand by creating as manyinstances as needed.

Since interaction between deployment units is through process componentoperations, one deployment unit can be replaced by other anotherdeployment unit as long as the new deployment unit supports theoperations depended upon by other deployment units as appropriate. Thus,while deployment units can depend on the external interfaces of processcomponents in other deployment units, deployment units are not dependenton process component interaction within other deployment units.Similarly, process components that interact with other processcomponents or external systems only through messages, e.g., as sent andreceived by operations, can also be replaced as long as the replacementgenerally supports the operations of the original.

Services (or interfaces) may be provided in a flexible architecture tosupport varying criteria between services and systems. The flexiblearchitecture may generally be provided by a service delivery businessobject. The system may be able to schedule a service asynchronously asnecessary, or on a regular basis. Services may be planned according to aschedule manually or automatically. For example, a follow-up service maybe scheduled automatically upon completing an initial service. Inaddition, flexible execution periods may be possible (e.g. hourly,daily, every three months, etc.). Each customer may plan the services ondemand or reschedule service execution upon request.

FIG. 1 depicts a flow diagram 100 showing an example technique, perhapsimplemented by systems similar to those disclosed herein. Initially, togenerate the business object model, design engineers study the detailsof a business process, and model the business process using a “businessscenario” (step 102). The business scenario identifies the stepsperformed by the different business entities during a business process.Thus, the business scenario is a complete representation of a clearlydefined business process.

After creating the business scenario, the developers add details to eachstep of the business scenario (step 104). In particular, for each stepof the business scenario, the developers identify the complete processsteps performed by each business entity. A discrete portion of thebusiness scenario reflects a “business transaction,” and each businessentity is referred to as a “component” of the business transaction. Thedevelopers also identify the messages that are transmitted between thecomponents. A “process interaction model” represents the completeprocess steps between two components.

After creating the process interaction model, the developers create a“message choreography” (step 106), which depicts the messagestransmitted between the two components in the process interaction model.The developers then represent the transmission of the messages betweenthe components during a business process in a “business document flow”(step 108). Thus, the business document flow illustrates the flow ofinformation between the business entities during a business process.

FIG. 2 depicts an example business document flow 200 for the process ofpurchasing a product or service. The business entities involved with theillustrative purchase process include Accounting 202, Payment 204,Invoicing 206, Supply Chain Execution (“SCE”) 208, Supply Chain Planning(“SCP”) 210, Fulfillment Coordination (“FC”) 212, Supply RelationshipManagement (“SRM”) 214, Supplier 216, and Bank 218. The businessdocument flow 200 is divided into four different transactions:Preparation of Ordering (“Contract”) 220, Ordering 222, Goods Receiving(“Delivery”) 224, and Billing/Payment 226. In the business documentflow, arrows 228 represent the transmittal of documents. Each documentreflects a message transmitted between entities. One of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate that the messages transferred may beconsidered to be a communications protocol. The process flow follows thefocus of control, which is depicted as a solid vertical line (e.g., 229)when the step is required, and a dotted vertical line (e.g., 230) whenthe step is optional.

During the Contract transaction 220, the SRM 214 sends a Source ofSupply Notification 232 to the SCP 210. This step is optional, asillustrated by the optional control line 230 coupling this step to theremainder of the business document flow 200. During the Orderingtransaction 222, the SCP 210 sends a Purchase Requirement Request 234 tothe FC 212, which forwards a Purchase Requirement Request 236 to the SRM214. The SRM 214 then sends a Purchase Requirement Confirmation 238 tothe FC 212, and the FC 212 sends a Purchase Requirement Confirmation 240to the SCP 210. The SRM 214 also sends a Purchase Order Request 242 tothe Supplier 216, and sends Purchase Order Information 244 to the FC212. The FC 212 then sends a Purchase Order Planning Notification 246 tothe SCP 210. The Supplier 216, after receiving the Purchase OrderRequest 242, sends a Purchase Order Confirmation 248 to the SRM 214,which sends a Purchase Order Information confirmation message 254 to theFC 212, which sends a message 256 confirming the Purchase Order PlanningNotification to the SCP 210. The SRM 214 then sends an Invoice DueNotification 258 to Invoicing 206.

During the Delivery transaction 224, the FC 212 sends a DeliveryExecution Request 260 to the SCE 208. The Supplier 216 could optionally(illustrated at control line 250) send a Dispatched DeliveryNotification 252 to the SCE 208. The SCE 208 then sends a message 262 tothe FC 212 notifying the FC 212 that the request for the DeliveryInformation was created. The FC 212 then sends a message 264 notifyingthe SRM 214 that the request for the Delivery Information was created.The FC 212 also sends a message 266 notifying the SCP 210 that therequest for the Delivery Information was created. The SCE 208 sends amessage 268 to the FC 212 when the goods have been set aside fordelivery. The FC 212 sends a message 270 to the SRM 214 when the goodshave been set aside for delivery. The FC 212 also sends a message 272 tothe SCP 210 when the goods have been set aside for delivery.

The SCE 208 sends a message 274 to the FC 212 when the goods have beendelivered. The FC 212 then sends a message 276 to the SRM 214 indicatingthat the goods have been delivered, and sends a message 278 to the SCP210 indicating that the goods have been delivered. The SCE 208 thensends an Inventory Change Accounting Notification 280 to Accounting 202,and an Inventory Change Notification 282 to the SCP 210. The FC 212sends an Invoice Due Notification 284 to Invoicing 206, and SCE 208sends a Received Delivery Notification 286 to the Supplier 216.

During the Billing/Payment transaction 226, the Supplier 216 sends anInvoice Request 287 to Invoicing 206. Invoicing 206 then sends a PaymentDue Notification 288 to Payment 204, a Tax Due Notification 289 toPayment 204, an Invoice Confirmation 290 to the Supplier 216, and anInvoice Accounting Notification 291 to Accounting 202. Payment 204 sendsa Payment Request 292 to the Bank 218, and a Payment RequestedAccounting Notification 293 to Accounting 202. Bank 218 sends a BankStatement Information 296 to Payment 204. Payment 204 then sends aPayment Done Information 294 to Invoicing 206 and a Payment DoneAccounting Notification 295 to Accounting 202.

Within a business document flow, business documents having the same orsimilar structures are marked. For example, in the business documentflow 200 depicted in FIG. 2, Purchase Requirement Requests 234, 236 andPurchase Requirement Confirmations 238, 240 have the same structures.Thus, each of these business documents is marked with an “O6.”Similarly, Purchase Order Request 242 and Purchase Order Confirmation248 have the same structures. Thus, both documents are marked with an“O1.” Each business document or message is based on a message type.

From the business document flow, the developers identify the businessdocuments having identical or similar structures, and use these businessdocuments to create the business object model (step 110). The businessobject model includes the objects contained within the businessdocuments. These objects are reflected as packages containing relatedinformation, and are arranged in a hierarchical structure within thebusiness object model, as discussed below.

Methods and systems consistent with the subject matter described hereinthen generate interfaces from the business object model (step 112). Theheterogeneous programs use instantiations of these interfaces (called“business document objects” below) to create messages (step 114), whichare sent to complete the business transaction (step 116). Businessentities use these messages to exchange information with other businessentities during an end-to-end business transaction. Since the businessobject model is shared by heterogeneous programs, the interfaces areconsistent among these programs. The heterogeneous programs use theseconsistent interfaces to communicate in a consistent manner, thusfacilitating the business transactions.

Standardized Business-to-Business (“B2B”) messages are compliant with atleast one of the e-business standards (i.e., they include thebusiness-relevant fields of the standard). The e-business standardsinclude, for example, RosettaNet for the high-tech industry, ChemicalIndustry Data Exchange (“CIDX”), Petroleum Industry Data Exchange(“PIDX”) for the oil industry, UCCnet for trade, PapiNet for the paperindustry, Odette for the automotive industry, HR-XML for humanresources, and XML Common Business Library (“xCBL”). Thus, B2B messagesenable simple integration of components in heterogeneous systemlandscapes. Application-to-Application (“A2A”) messages often exceed thestandards and thus may provide the benefit of the full functionality ofapplication components. Although various steps of FIG. 1 were describedas being performed manually, one skilled in the art will appreciate thatsuch steps could be computer-assisted or performed entirely by acomputer, including being performed by either hardware, software, or anyother combination thereof.

B. Implementation Details

As discussed above, methods and systems consistent with the subjectmatter described herein create consistent interfaces by generating theinterfaces from a business object model. Details regarding the creationof the business object model, the generation of an interface from thebusiness object model, and the use of an interface generated from thebusiness object model are provided below.

Turning to the illustrated embodiment in FIG. 3A, environment 300includes or is communicably coupled (such as via a one-, bi- ormulti-directional link or network) with server 302, one or more clients304, one or more or vendors 306, one or more customers 308, at leastsome of which communicate across network 312. But, of course, thisillustration is for example purposes only, and any distributed system orenvironment implementing one or more of the techniques described hereinmay be within the scope of this disclosure. Server 302 comprises anelectronic computing device operable to receive, transmit, process andstore data associated with environment 300. Generally, FIG. 3A providesmerely one example of computers that may be used with the disclosure.Each computer is generally intended to encompass any suitable processingdevice. For example, although FIG. 3A illustrates one server 302 thatmay be used with the disclosure, environment 300 can be implementedusing computers other than servers, as well as a server pool. Indeed,server 302 may be any computer or processing device such as, forexample, a blade server, general-purpose personal computer (PC),Macintosh, workstation, Unix-based computer, or any other suitabledevice. In other words, the present disclosure contemplates computersother than general purpose computers as well as computers withoutconventional operating systems. Server 302 may be adapted to execute anyoperating system including Linux, UNIX, Windows Server, or any othersuitable operating system. According to one embodiment, server 302 mayalso include or be communicably coupled with a web server and/or a mailserver.

As illustrated (but not required), the server 302 is communicablycoupled with a relatively remote repository 335 over a portion of thenetwork 312. The repository 335 is any electronic storage facility, dataprocessing center, or archive that may supplement or replace localmemory (such as 327). The repository 335 may be a central databasecommunicably coupled with the one or more servers 302 and the clients304 via a virtual private network (VPN), SSH (Secure Shell) tunnel, orother secure network connection. The repository 335 may be physically orlogically located at any appropriate location including in one of theexample enterprises or off-shore, so long as it remains operable tostore information associated with the environment 300 and communicatesuch data to the server 302 or at least a subset of plurality of theclients 304.

Illustrated server 302 includes local memory 327. Memory 327 may includeany memory or database module and may take the form of volatile ornon-volatile memory including, without limitation, magnetic media,optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM),removable media, or any other suitable local or remote memory component.Illustrated memory 327 includes an exchange infrastructure (“XI”) 314,which is an infrastructure that supports the technical interaction ofbusiness processes across heterogeneous system environments. XI 314centralizes the communication between components within a businessentity and between different business entities. When appropriate, XI 314carries out the mapping between the messages. XI 314 integratesdifferent versions of systems implemented on different platforms (e.g.,Java and ABAP). XI 314 is based on an open architecture, and makes useof open standards, such as eXtensible Markup Language (XML)™ and Javaenvironments. XI 314 offers services that are useful in a heterogeneousand complex system landscape. In particular, XI 314 offers a runtimeinfrastructure for message exchange, configuration options for managingbusiness processes and message flow, and options for transformingmessage contents between sender and receiver systems.

XI 314 stores data types 316, a business object model 318, andinterfaces 320. The details regarding the business object model aredescribed below. Data types 316 are the building blocks for the businessobject model 318. The business object model 318 is used to deriveconsistent interfaces 320. XI 314 allows for the exchange of informationfrom a first company having one computer system to a second companyhaving a second computer system over network 312 by using thestandardized interfaces 320.

While not illustrated, memory 327 may also include business objects andany other appropriate data such as services, interfaces, VPNapplications or services, firewall policies, a security or access log,print or other reporting files, HTML files or templates, data classes orobject interfaces, child software applications or sub-systems, andothers. This stored data may be stored in one or more logical orphysical repositories. In some embodiments, the stored data (or pointersthereto) may be stored in one or more tables in a relational databasedescribed in terms of SQL statements or scripts. In the same or otherembodiments, the stored data may also be formatted, stored, or definedas various data structures in text files, XML documents, Virtual StorageAccess Method (VSAM) files, flat files, Btrieve files,comma-separated-value (CSV) files, internal variables, or one or morelibraries. For example, a particular data service record may merely be apointer to a particular piece of third party software stored remotely.In another example, a particular data service may be an internallystored software object usable by authenticated customers or internaldevelopment. In short, the stored data may comprise one table or file ora plurality of tables or files stored on one computer or across aplurality of computers in any appropriate format. Indeed, some or all ofthe stored data may be local or remote without departing from the scopeof this disclosure and store any type of appropriate data.

Server 302 also includes processor 325. Processor 325 executesinstructions and manipulates data to perform the operations of server302 such as, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a blade, anapplication specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or a field-programmablegate array (FPGA). Although FIG. 3A illustrates a single processor 325in server 302, multiple processors 325 may be used according toparticular needs and reference to processor 325 is meant to includemultiple processors 325 where applicable. In the illustrated embodiment,processor 325 executes at least business application 330.

At a high level, business application 330 is any application, program,module, process, or other software that utilizes or facilitates theexchange of information via messages (or services) or the use ofbusiness objects. For example, application 330 may implement, utilize orotherwise leverage an enterprise service-oriented architecture(enterprise SOA), which may be considered a blueprint for an adaptable,flexible, and open IT architecture for developing services-based,enterprise-scale business solutions. This example enterprise service maybe a series of web services combined with business logic that can beaccessed and used repeatedly to support a particular business process.Aggregating web services into business-level enterprise services helpsprovide a more meaningful foundation for the task of automatingenterprise-scale business scenarios Put simply, enterprise services helpprovide a holistic combination of actions that are semantically linkedto complete the specific task, no matter how many cross-applications areinvolved. In certain cases, environment 300 may implement a compositeapplication 330, as described below in FIG. 4. Regardless of theparticular implementation, “software” may include software, firmware,wired or programmed hardware, or any combination thereof as appropriate.Indeed, application 330 may be written or described in any appropriatecomputer language including C, C++, Java, Visual Basic, assembler, Perl,any suitable version of 4GL, as well as others. For example, returningto the above mentioned composite application, the composite applicationportions may be implemented as Enterprise Java Beans (EJBs) or thedesign-time components may have the ability to generate run-timeimplementations into different platforms, such as J2EE (Java 2 Platform,Enterprise Edition), ABAP (Advanced Business Application Programming)objects, or Microsoft's .NET. It will be understood that whileapplication 330 is illustrated in FIG. 4 as including varioussub-modules, application 330 may include numerous other sub-modules ormay instead be a single multi-tasked module that implements the variousfeatures and functionality through various objects, methods, or otherprocesses. Further, while illustrated as internal to server 302, one ormore processes associated with application 330 may be stored,referenced, or executed remotely. For example, a portion of application330 may be a web service that is remotely called, while another portionof application 330 may be an interface object bundled for processing atremote client 304. Moreover, application 330 may be a child orsub-module of another software module or enterprise application (notillustrated) without departing from the scope of this disclosure.Indeed, application 330 may be a hosted solution that allows multiplerelated or third parties in different portions of the process to performthe respective processing.

More specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 4, application 330 may be acomposite application, or an application built on other applications,that includes an object access layer (OAL) and a service layer. In thisexample, application 330 may execute or provide a number of applicationservices, such as customer relationship management (CRM) systems, humanresources management (HRM) systems, financial management (FM) systems,project management (PM) systems, knowledge management (KM) systems, andelectronic file and mail systems. Such an object access layer isoperable to exchange data with a plurality of enterprise base systemsand to present the data to a composite application through a uniforminterface. The example service layer is operable to provide services tothe composite application. These layers may help the compositeapplication to orchestrate a business process in synchronization withother existing processes (e.g., native processes of enterprise basesystems) and leverage existing investments in the IT platform. Further,composite application 330 may run on a heterogeneous IT platform. Indoing so, composite application may be cross-functional in that it maydrive business processes across different applications, technologies,and organizations. Accordingly, composite application 330 may driveend-to-end business processes across heterogeneous systems orsub-systems. Application 330 may also include or be coupled with apersistence layer and one or more application system connectors. Suchapplication system connectors enable data exchange and integration withenterprise sub-systems and may include an Enterprise Connector (EC)interface, an Internet Communication Manager/Internet CommunicationFramework (ICM/ICF) interface, an Encapsulated PostScript (EPS)interface, and/or other interfaces that provide Remote Function Call(RFC) capability. It will be understood that while this exampledescribes a composite application 330, it may instead be a standalone or(relatively) simple software program. Regardless, application 330 mayalso perform processing automatically, which may indicate that theappropriate processing is substantially performed by at least onecomponent of environment 300. It should be understood that automaticallyfurther contemplates any suitable administrator or other userinteraction with application 330 or other components of environment 300without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

Returning to FIG. 3A, illustrated server 302 may also include interface317 for communicating with other computer systems, such as clients 304,over network 312 in a client-server or other distributed environment. Incertain embodiments, server 302 receives data from internal or externalsenders through interface 317 for storage in memory 327, for storage inDB 335, and/or processing by processor 325. Generally, interface 317comprises logic encoded in software and/or hardware in a suitablecombination and operable to communicate with network 312. Morespecifically, interface 317 may comprise software supporting one or morecommunications protocols associated with communications network 312 orhardware operable to communicate physical signals.

Network 312 facilitates wireless or wireline communication betweencomputer server 302 and any other local or remote computer, such asclients 304. Network 312 may be all or a portion of an enterprise orsecured network. In another example, network 312 may be a VPN merelybetween server 302 and client 304 across wireline or wireless link. Suchan example wireless link may be via 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.20,WiMax, and many others. While illustrated as a single or continuousnetwork, network 312 may be logically divided into various sub-nets orvirtual networks without departing from the scope of this disclosure, solong as at least portion of network 312 may facilitate communicationsbetween server 302 and at least one client 304. For example, server 302may be communicably coupled to one or more “local” repositories throughone sub-net while communicably coupled to a particular client 304 or“remote” repositories through another. In other words, network 312encompasses any internal or external network, networks, sub-network, orcombination thereof operable to facilitate communications betweenvarious computing components in environment 300. Network 312 maycommunicate, for example, Internet Protocol (IP) packets, Frame Relayframes, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) cells, voice, video, data, andother suitable information between network addresses. Network 312 mayinclude one or more local area networks (LANs), radio access networks(RANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs), wide area networks (WANs),all or a portion of the global computer network known as the Internet,and/or any other communication system or systems at one or morelocations. In certain embodiments, network 312 may be a secure networkassociated with the enterprise and certain local or remote vendors 306and customers 308. As used in this disclosure, customer 308 is anyperson, department, organization, small business, enterprise, or anyother entity that may use or request others to use environment 300. Asdescribed above, vendors 306 also may be local or remote to customer308. Indeed, a particular vendor 306 may provide some content tobusiness application 330, while receiving or purchasing other content(at the same or different times) as customer 308. As illustrated,customer 308 and vendor 06 each typically perform some processing (suchas uploading or purchasing content) using a computer, such as client304.

Client 304 is any computing device operable to connect or communicatewith server 302 or network 312 using any communication link. Forexample, client 304 is intended to encompass a personal computer, touchscreen terminal, workstation, network computer, kiosk, wireless dataport, smart phone, personal data assistant (PDA), one or more processorswithin these or other devices, or any other suitable processing deviceused by or for the benefit of business 308, vendor 306, or some otheruser or entity. At a high level, each client 304 includes or executes atleast GUI 336 and comprises an electronic computing device operable toreceive, transmit, process and store any appropriate data associatedwith environment 300. It will be understood that there may be any numberof clients 304 communicably coupled to server 302. Further, “client304,” “business,” “business analyst,” “end user,” and “user” may be usedinterchangeably as appropriate without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure. Moreover, for ease of illustration, each client 304 isdescribed in terms of being used by one user. But this disclosurecontemplates that many users may use one computer or that one user mayuse multiple computers. For example, client 304 may be a PDA operable towirelessly connect with external or unsecured network. In anotherexample, client 304 may comprise a laptop that includes an input device,such as a keypad, touch screen, mouse, or other device that can acceptinformation, and an output device that conveys information associatedwith the operation of server 302 or clients 304, including digital data,visual information, or GUI 336. Both the input device and output devicemay include fixed or removable storage media such as a magnetic computerdisk, CD-ROM, or other suitable media to both receive input from andprovide output to users of clients 304 through the display, namely theclient portion of GUI or application interface 336.

GUI 336 comprises a graphical user interface operable to allow the userof client 304 to interface with at least a portion of environment 300for any suitable purpose, such as viewing application or othertransaction data. Generally, GUI 336 provides the particular user withan efficient and user-friendly presentation of data provided by orcommunicated within environment 300. For example, GUI 336 may presentthe user with the components and information that is relevant to theirtask, increase reuse of such components, and facilitate a sizabledeveloper community around those components. GUI 336 may comprise aplurality of customizable frames or views having interactive fields,pull-down lists, and buttons operated by the user. For example, GUI 336is operable to display data involving business objects and interfaces ina user-friendly form based on the user context and the displayed data.In another example, GUI 336 is operable to display different levels andtypes of information involving business objects and interfaces based onthe identified or supplied user role. GUI 336 may also present aplurality of portals or dashboards. For example, GUI 336 may display aportal that allows users to view, create, and manage historical andreal-time reports including role-based reporting and such. Of course,such reports may be in any appropriate output format including PDF,HTML, and printable text. Real-time dashboards often provide table andgraph information on the current state of the data, which may besupplemented by business objects and interfaces. It should be understoodthat the term graphical user interface may be used in the singular or inthe plural to describe one or more graphical user interfaces and each ofthe displays of a particular graphical user interface. Indeed, referenceto GUI 336 may indicate a reference to the front-end or a component ofbusiness application 330, as well as the particular interface accessiblevia client 304, as appropriate, without departing from the scope of thisdisclosure. Therefore, GUI 336 contemplates any graphical userinterface, such as a generic web browser or touchscreen, that processesinformation in environment 300 and efficiently presents the results tothe user. Server 302 can accept data from client 304 via the web browser(e.g., Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator) and return theappropriate HTML or XML responses to the browser using network 312.

More generally in environment 300 as depicted in FIG. 3B, a FoundationLayer 375 can be deployed on multiple separate and distinct hardwareplatforms, e.g., System A 350 and System B 360, to support applicationsoftware deployed as two or more deployment units distributed on theplatforms, including deployment unit 352 deployed on System A anddeployment unit 362 deployed on System B. In this example, thefoundation layer can be used to support application software deployed inan application layer. In particular, the foundation layer can be used inconnection with application software implemented in accordance with asoftware architecture that provides a suite of enterprise serviceoperations having various application functionality. In someimplementations, the application software is implemented to be deployedon an application platform that includes a foundation layer thatcontains all fundamental entities that can used from multiple deploymentunits. These entities can be process components, business objects, andreuse service components. A reuse service component is a piece ofsoftware that is reused in different transactions. A reuse servicecomponent is used by its defined interfaces, which can be, e.g., localAPIs or service interfaces. As explained above, process components inseparate deployment units interact through service operations, asillustrated by messages passing between service operations 356 and 366,which are implemented in process components 354 and 364, respectively,which are included in deployment units 352 and 362, respectively. Asalso explained above, some form of direct communication is generally theform of interaction used between a business object, e.g., businessobject 358 and 368, of an application deployment unit and a businessobject, such as master data object 370, of the Foundation Layer 375.

Various components of the present disclosure may be modeled using amodel-driven environment. For example, the model-driven framework orenvironment may allow the developer to use simple drag-and-droptechniques to develop pattern-based or freestyle user interfaces anddefine the flow of data between them. The result could be an efficient,customized, visually rich online experience. In some cases, thismodel-driven development may accelerate the application developmentprocess and foster business-user self-service. It further enablesbusiness analysts or IT developers to compose visually rich applicationsthat use analytic services, enterprise services, remote function calls(RFCs), APIs, and stored procedures. In addition, it may allow them toreuse existing applications and create content using a modeling processand a visual user interface instead of manual coding.

FIG. 5A depicts an example modeling environment 516, namely a modelingenvironment, in accordance with one embodiment of the presentdisclosure. Thus, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, such a modeling environment516 may implement techniques for decoupling models created duringdesign-time from the runtime environment. In other words, modelrepresentations for GUIs created in a design time environment aredecoupled from the runtime environment in which the GUIs are executed.Often in these environments, a declarative and executable representationfor GUIs for applications is provided that is independent of anyparticular runtime platform, GUI framework, device, or programminglanguage.

According to some embodiments, a modeler (or other analyst) may use themodel-driven modeling environment 516 to create pattern-based orfreestyle user interfaces using simple drag-and-drop services. Becausethis development may be model-driven, the modeler can typically composean application using models of business objects without having to writemuch, if any, code. In some cases, this example modeling environment 516may provide a personalized, secure interface that helps unify enterpriseapplications, information, and processes into a coherent, role-basedportal experience. Further, the modeling environment 516 may allow thedeveloper to access and share information and applications in acollaborative environment. In this way, virtual collaboration roomsallow developers to work together efficiently, regardless of where theyare located, and may enable powerful and immediate communication thatcrosses organizational boundaries while enforcing security requirements.Indeed, the modeling environment 516 may provide a shared set ofservices for finding, organizing, and accessing unstructured contentstored in third-party repositories and content management systems acrossvarious networks 312. Classification tools may automate the organizationof information, while subject-matter experts and content managers canpublish information to distinct user audiences. Regardless of theparticular implementation or architecture, this modeling environment 516may allow the developer to easily model hosted business objects 140using this model-driven approach.

In certain embodiments, the modeling environment 516 may implement orutilize a generic, declarative, and executable GUI language (generallydescribed as XGL). This example XGL is generally independent of anyparticular GUI framework or runtime platform. Further, XGL is normallynot dependent on characteristics of a target device on which the graphicuser interface is to be displayed and may also be independent of anyprogramming language. XGL is used to generate a generic representation(occasionally referred to as the XGL representation or XGL-compliantrepresentation) for a design-time model representation. The XGLrepresentation is thus typically a device-independent representation ofa GUI. The XGL representation is declarative in that the representationdoes not depend on any particular GUI framework, runtime platform,device, or programming language. The XGL representation can beexecutable and therefore can unambiguously encapsulate executionsemantics for the GUI described by a model representation. In short,models of different types can be transformed to XGL representations.

The XGL representation may be used for generating representations ofvarious different GUIs and supports various GUI features including fullwindowing and componentization support, rich data visualizations andanimations, rich modes of data entry and user interactions, and flexibleconnectivity to any complex application data services. While a specificembodiment of XGL is discussed, various other types of XGLs may also beused in alternative embodiments. In other words, it will be understoodthat XGL is used for example description only and may be read to includeany abstract or modeling language that can be generic, declarative, andexecutable.

Turning to the illustrated embodiment in FIG. 5A, modeling tool 340 maybe used by a GUI designer or business analyst during the applicationdesign phase to create a model representation 502 for a GUI application.It will be understood that modeling environment 516 may include or becompatible with various different modeling tools 340 used to generatemodel representation 502. This model representation 502 may be amachine-readable representation of an application or a domain specificmodel. Model representation 502 generally encapsulates various designparameters related to the GUI such as GUI components, dependenciesbetween the GUI components, inputs and outputs, and the like. Putanother way, model representation 502 provides a form in which the oneor more models can be persisted and transported, and possibly handled byvarious tools such as code generators, runtime interpreters, analysisand validation tools, merge tools, and the like. In one embodiment,model representation 502 maybe a collection of XML documents with awell-formed syntax.

Illustrated modeling environment 516 also includes an abstractrepresentation generator (or XGL generator) 504 operable to generate anabstract representation (for example, XGL representation orXGL-compliant representation) 506 based upon model representation 502.Abstract representation generator 504 takes model representation 502 asinput and outputs abstract representation 506 for the modelrepresentation. Model representation 502 may include multiple instancesof various forms or types depending on the tool/language used for themodeling. In certain cases, these various different modelrepresentations may each be mapped to one or more abstractrepresentations 506. Different types of model representations may betransformed or mapped to XGL representations. For each type of modelrepresentation, mapping rules may be provided for mapping the modelrepresentation to the XGL representation 506. Different mapping rulesmay be provided for mapping a model representation to an XGLrepresentation.

This XGL representation 506 that is created from a model representationmay then be used for processing in the runtime environment. For example,the XGL representation 506 may be used to generate a machine-executableruntime GUI (or some other runtime representation) that may be executedby a target device. As part of the runtime processing, the XGLrepresentation 506 may be transformed into one or more runtimerepresentations, which may indicate source code in a particularprogramming language, machine-executable code for a specific runtimeenvironment, executable GUI, and so forth, which may be generated forspecific runtime environments and devices. Since the XGL representation506, rather than the design-time model representation, is used by theruntime environment, the design-time model representation is decoupledfrom the runtime environment. The XGL representation 506 can thus serveas the common ground or interface between design-time user interfacemodeling tools and a plurality of user interface runtime frameworks. Itprovides a self-contained, closed, and deterministic definition of allaspects of a graphical user interface in a device-independent andprogramming-language independent manner. Accordingly, abstractrepresentation 506 generated for a model representation 502 is generallydeclarative and executable in that it provides a representation of theGUI of model representation 502 that is not dependent on any device orruntime platform, is not dependent on any programming language, andunambiguously encapsulates execution semantics for the GUI. Theexecution semantics may include, for example, identification of variouscomponents of the GUI, interpretation of connections between the variousGUI components, information identifying the order of sequencing ofevents, rules governing dynamic behavior of the GUI, rules governinghandling of values by the GUI, and the like. The abstract representation506 is also not GUI runtime-platform specific. The abstractrepresentation 506 provides a self-contained, closed, and deterministicdefinition of all aspects of a graphical user interface that is deviceindependent and language independent.

Abstract representation 506 is such that the appearance and executionsemantics of a GUI generated from the XGL representation workconsistently on different target devices irrespective of the GUIcapabilities of the target device and the target device platform. Forexample, the same XGL representation may be mapped to appropriate GUIson devices of differing levels of GUI complexity (i.e., the sameabstract representation may be used to generate a GUI for devices thatsupport simple GUIs and for devices that can support complex GUIs), theGUI generated by the devices are consistent with each other in theirappearance and behavior.

Abstract representation generator 504 may be configured to generateabstract representation 506 for models of different types, which may becreated using different modeling tools 340. It will be understood thatmodeling environment 516 may include some, none, or other sub-modules orcomponents as those shown in this example illustration. In other words,modeling environment 516 encompasses the design-time environment (withor without the abstract generator or the various representations), amodeling toolkit (such as 340) linked with a developer's space, or anyother appropriate software operable to decouple models created duringdesign-time from the runtime environment. Abstract representation 506provides an interface between the design time environment and theruntime environment. As shown, this abstract representation 506 may thenbe used by runtime processing.

As part of runtime processing, modeling environment 516 may includevarious runtime tools 508 and may generate different types of runtimerepresentations based upon the abstract representation 506. Examples ofruntime representations include device or language-dependent (orspecific) source code, runtime platform-specific machine-readable code,GUIs for a particular target device, and the like. The runtime tools 508may include compilers, interpreters, source code generators, and othersuch tools that are configured to generate runtime platform-specific ortarget device-specific runtime representations of abstractrepresentation 506. The runtime tool 508 may generate the runtimerepresentation from abstract representation 506 using specific rulesthat map abstract representation 506 to a particular type of runtimerepresentation. These mapping rules may be dependent on the type ofruntime tool, characteristics of the target device to be used fordisplaying the GUI, runtime platform, and/or other factors. Accordingly,mapping rules may be provided for transforming the abstractrepresentation 506 to any number of target runtime representationsdirected to one or more target GUI runtime platforms. For example,XGL-compliant code generators may conform to semantics of XGL, asdescribed below. XGL-compliant code generators may ensure that theappearance and behavior of the generated user interfaces is preservedacross a plurality of target GUI frameworks, while accommodating thedifferences in the intrinsic characteristics of each and alsoaccommodating the different levels of capability of target devices.

For example, as depicted in example FIG. 5A, an XGL-to-Java compiler508A may take abstract representation 506 as input and generate Javacode 510 for execution by a target device comprising a Java runtime 512.Java runtime 512 may execute Java code 510 to generate or display a GUI514 on a Java-platform target device. As another example, anXGL-to-Flash compiler 508B may take abstract representation 506 as inputand generate Flash code 526 for execution by a target device comprisinga Flash runtime 518. Flash runtime 518 may execute Flash code 516 togenerate or display a GUI 520 on a target device comprising a Flashplatform. As another example, an XGL-to-DHTML (dynamic HTML) interpreter508C may take abstract representation 506 as input and generate DHTMLstatements (instructions) on the fly which are then interpreted by aDHTML runtime 522 to generate or display a GUI 524 on a target devicecomprising a DHTML platform.

It should be apparent that abstract representation 506 may be used togenerate GUIs for Extensible Application Markup Language (XAML) orvarious other runtime platforms and devices. The same abstractrepresentation 506 may be mapped to various runtime representations anddevice-specific and runtime platform-specific GUIs. In general, in theruntime environment, machine executable instructions specific to aruntime environment may be generated based upon the abstractrepresentation 506 and executed to generate a GUI in the runtimeenvironment. The same XGL representation may be used to generate machineexecutable instructions specific to different runtime environments andtarget devices.

According to certain embodiments, the process of mapping a modelrepresentation 502 to an abstract representation 506 and mapping anabstract representation 506 to some runtime representation may beautomated. For example, design tools may automatically generate anabstract representation for the model representation using XGL and thenuse the XGL abstract representation to generate GUIs that are customizedfor specific runtime environments and devices. As previously indicated,mapping rules may be provided for mapping model representations to anXGL representation. Mapping rules may also be provided for mapping anXGL representation to a runtime platform-specific representation.

Since the runtime environment uses abstract representation 506 ratherthan model representation 502 for runtime processing, the modelrepresentation 502 that is created during design-time is decoupled fromthe runtime environment. Abstract representation 506 thus provides aninterface between the modeling environment and the runtime environment.As a result, changes may be made to the design time environment,including changes to model representation 502 or changes that affectmodel representation 502, generally to not substantially affect orimpact the runtime environment or tools used by the runtime environment.Likewise, changes may be made to the runtime environment generally tonot substantially affect or impact the design time environment. Adesigner or other developer can thus concentrate on the design aspectsand make changes to the design without having to worry about the runtimedependencies such as the target device platform or programming languagedependencies.

FIG. 5B depicts an example process for mapping a model representation502 to a runtime representation using the example modeling environment516 of FIG. 5A or some other modeling environment. Model representation502 may comprise one or more model components and associated propertiesthat describe a data object, such as hosted business objects andinterfaces. As described above, at least one of these model componentsis based on or otherwise associated with these hosted business objectsand interfaces. The abstract representation 506 is generated based uponmodel representation 502. Abstract representation 506 may be generatedby the abstract representation generator 504. Abstract representation506 comprises one or more abstract GUI components and propertiesassociated with the abstract GUI components. As part of generation ofabstract representation 506, the model GUI components and theirassociated properties from the model representation are mapped toabstract GUI components and properties associated with the abstract GUIcomponents. Various mapping rules may be provided to facilitate themapping. The abstract representation encapsulates both appearance andbehavior of a GUI. Therefore, by mapping model components to abstractcomponents, the abstract representation not only specifies the visualappearance of the GUI but also the behavior of the GUI, such as inresponse to events whether clicking/dragging or scrolling, interactionsbetween GUI components and such.

One or more runtime representations 550 a, including GUIs for specificruntime environment platforms, may be generated from abstractrepresentation 506. A device-dependent runtime representation may begenerated for a particular type of target device platform to be used forexecuting and displaying the GUI encapsulated by the abstractrepresentation. The GUIs generated from abstract representation 506 maycomprise various types of GUI elements such as buttons, windows,scrollbars, input boxes, etc. Rules may be provided for mapping anabstract representation to a particular runtime representation. Variousmapping rules may be provided for different runtime environmentplatforms.

Methods and systems consistent with the subject matter described hereinprovide and use interfaces 320 derived from the business object model318 suitable for use with more than one business area, for exampledifferent departments within a company such as finance, or marketing.Also, they are suitable across industries and across businesses.Interfaces 320 are used during an end-to-end business transaction totransfer business process information in an application-independentmanner. For example the interfaces can be used for fulfilling a salesorder.

1. Message Overview

To perform an end-to-end business transaction, consistent interfaces areused to create business documents that are sent within messages betweenheterogeneous programs or modules.

a) Message Categories

As depicted in FIG. 6, the communication between a sender 602 and arecipient 604 can be broken down into basic categories that describe thetype of the information exchanged and simultaneously suggest theanticipated reaction of the recipient 604. A message category is ageneral business classification for the messages. Communication issender-driven. In other words, the meaning of the message categories isestablished or formulated from the perspective of the sender 602. Themessage categories include information 606, notification 608, query 610,response 612, request 614, and confirmation 616.

(1) Information

Information 606 is a message sent from a sender 602 to a recipient 604concerning a condition or a statement of affairs. No reply toinformation is expected. Information 606 is sent to make businesspartners or business applications aware of a situation. Information 606is not compiled to be application-specific. Examples of “information”are an announcement, advertising, a report, planning information, and amessage to the business warehouse.

(2) Notification

A notification 608 is a notice or message that is geared to a service. Asender 602 sends the notification 608 to a recipient 604. No reply isexpected for a notification. For example, a billing notification relatesto the preparation of an invoice while a dispatched deliverynotification relates to preparation for receipt of goods.

(3) Query

A query 610 is a question from a sender 602 to a recipient 604 to whicha response 612 is expected. A query 610 implies no assurance orobligation on the part of the sender 602. Examples of a query 610 arewhether space is available on a specific flight or whether a specificproduct is available. These queries do not express the desire forreserving the flight or purchasing the product.

(4) Response

A response 612 is a reply to a query 610. The recipient 604 sends theresponse 612 to the sender 602. A response 612 generally implies noassurance or obligation on the part of the recipient 604. The sender 602is not expected to reply. Instead, the process is concluded with theresponse 612. Depending on the business scenario, a response 612 alsomay include a commitment, i.e., an assurance or obligation on the partof the recipient 604. Examples of responses 612 are a response statingthat space is available on a specific flight or that a specific productis available. With these responses, no reservation was made.

(5) Request

A request 614 is a binding requisition or requirement from a sender 602to a recipient 604. Depending on the business scenario, the recipient604 can respond to a request 614 with a confirmation 616. The request614 is binding on the sender 602. In making the request 614, the sender602 assumes, for example, an obligation to accept the services renderedin the request 614 under the reported conditions. Examples of a request614 are a parking ticket, a purchase order, an order for delivery and ajob application.

(6) Confirmation

A confirmation 616 is a binding reply that is generally made to arequest 614. The recipient 604 sends the confirmation 616 to the sender602. The information indicated in a confirmation 616, such as deadlines,products, quantities and prices, can deviate from the information of thepreceding request 614. A request 614 and confirmation 616 may be used innegotiating processes. A negotiating process can consist of a series ofseveral request 614 and confirmation 616 messages. The confirmation 616is binding on the recipient 604. For example, 100 units of X may beordered in a purchase order request; however, only the delivery of 80units is confirmed in the associated purchase order confirmation.

b) Message Choreography

A message choreography is a template that specifies the sequence ofmessages between business entities during a given transaction. Thesequence with the messages contained in it describes in general themessage “lifecycle” as it proceeds between the business entities. Ifmessages from a choreography are used in a business transaction, theyappear in the transaction in the sequence determined by thechoreography. This illustrates the template character of a choreography,i.e., during an actual transaction, it is not necessary for all messagesof the choreography to appear. Those messages that are contained in thetransaction, however, follow the sequence within the choreography. Abusiness transaction is thus a derivation of a message choreography. Thechoreography makes it possible to determine the structure of theindividual message types more precisely and distinguish them from oneanother.

2. Components of the Business Object Model

The overall structure of the business object model ensures theconsistency of the interfaces that are derived from the business objectmodel. The derivation ensures that the same business-related subjectmatter or concept is represented and structured in the same way in allinterfaces.

The business object model defines the business-related concepts at acentral location for a number of business transactions. In other words,it reflects the decisions made about modeling the business entities ofthe real world acting in business transactions across industries andbusiness areas. The business object model is defined by the businessobjects and their relationship to each other (the overall netstructure).

Each business object is generally a capsule with an internalhierarchical structure, behavior offered by its operations, andintegrity constraints. Business objects are semantically disjoint, i.e.,the same business information is represented once. In the businessobject model, the business objects are arranged in an orderingframework. From left to right, they are arranged according to theirexistence dependency to each other. For example, the customizingelements may be arranged on the left side of the business object model,the strategic elements may be arranged in the center of the businessobject model, and the operative elements may be arranged on the rightside of the business object model. Similarly, the business objects arearranged from the top to the bottom based on defined order of thebusiness areas, e.g., finance could be arranged at the top of thebusiness object model with CRM below finance and SRM below CRM.

To ensure the consistency of interfaces, the business object model maybe built using standardized data types as well as packages to grouprelated elements together, and package templates and entity templates tospecify the arrangement of packages and entities within the structure.

a) Data Types

Data types are used to type object entities and interfaces with astructure. This typing can include business semantic. Such data typesmay include those generally described at pages 96 through 1642 (whichare incorporated by reference herein) of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 11/803,178, filed on May 11, 2007 and entitled “Consistent Set OfInterfaces Derived From A Business Object Model”. For example, the datatype BusinessTransactionDocumentID is a unique identifier for a documentin a business transaction. Also, as an example, Data typeBusinessTransactionDocumentParty contains the information that isexchanged in business documents about a party involved in a businesstransaction, and includes the party's identity, the party's address, theparty's contact person and the contact person's address.BusinessTransactionDocumentParty also includes the role of the party,e.g., a buyer, seller, product recipient, or vendor.

The data types are based on Core Component Types (“CCTs”), whichthemselves are based on the World Wide Web Consortium (“W3C”) datatypes. “Global” data types represent a business situation that isdescribed by a fixed structure. Global data types include bothcontext-neutral generic data types (“GDTs”) and context-based contextdata types (“CDTs”). GDTs contain business semantics, but areapplication-neutral, i.e., without context. CDTs, on the other hand, arebased on GDTs and form either a use-specific view of the GDTs, or acontext-specific assembly of GDTs or CDTs. A message is typicallyconstructed with reference to a use and is thus a use-specific assemblyof GDTs and CDTs. The data types can be aggregated to complex datatypes.

To achieve a harmonization across business objects and interfaces, thesame subject matter is typed with the same data type. For example, thedata type “GeoCoordinates” is built using the data type “Measure” sothat the measures in a GeoCoordinate (i.e., the latitude measure and thelongitude measure) are represented the same as other “Measures” thatappear in the business object model.

b) Entities

Entities are discrete business elements that are used during a businesstransaction. Entities are not to be confused with business entities orthe components that interact to perform a transaction. Rather,“entities” are one of the layers of the business object model and theinterfaces. For example, a Catalogue entity is used in a CataloguePublication Request and a Purchase Order is used in a Purchase OrderRequest. These entities are created using the data types defined aboveto ensure the consistent representation of data throughout the entities.

c) Packages

Packages group the entities in the business object model and theresulting interfaces into groups of semantically associated information.Packages also may include “sub”-packages, i.e., the packages may benested.

Packages may group elements together based on different factors, such aselements that occur together as a rule with regard to a business-relatedaspect. For example, as depicted in FIG. 7, in a Purchase Order,different information regarding the purchase order, such as the type ofpayment 702, and payment card 704, are grouped together via thePaymentlnformation package 700.

Packages also may combine different components that result in a newobject. For example, as depicted in FIG. 8, the components wheels 804,motor 806, and doors 808 are combined to form a composition “Car” 802.The “Car” package 800 includes the wheels, motor and doors as well asthe composition “Car.”

Another grouping within a package may be subtypes within a type. Inthese packages, the components are specialized forms of a genericpackage. For example, as depicted in FIG. 9, the components Car 904,Boat 906, and Truck 908 can be generalized by the generic term Vehicle902 in Vehicle package 900. Vehicle in this case is the generic package910, while Car 912, Boat 914, and Truck 916 are the specializations 918of the generalized vehicle 910.

Packages also may be used to represent hierarchy levels. For example, asdepicted in FIG. 10, the Item Package 1000 includes Item 1002 withsubitem xxx 1004, subitem yyy 1006, and subitem zzz 1008.

Packages can be represented in the XML schema as a comment. Oneadvantage of this grouping is that the document structure is easier toread and is more understandable. The names of these packages areassigned by including the object name in brackets with the suffix“Package.” For example, as depicted in FIG. 11, Party package 1100 isenclosed by <PartyPackage> 1102 and </PartyPackage> 1104. Party package1100 illustratively includes a Buyer Party 1106, identified by<BuyerParty> 1108 and </BuyerParty> 1110, and a Seller Party 1112,identified by <SellerParty> 1114 and </SellerParty>, etc.

d) Relationships

Relationships describe the interdependencies of the entities in thebusiness object model, and are thus an integral part of the businessobject model.

(1) Cardinality of Relationships

FIG. 12 depicts a graphical representation of the cardinalities betweentwo entities. The cardinality between a first entity and a second entityidentifies the number of second entities that could possibly exist foreach first entity. Thus, a 1:c cardinality 1200 between entities A 1202and X 1204 indicates that for each entity A 1202, there is either one orzero 1206 entity X 1204. A 1:1 cardinality 1208 between entities A 1210and X 1212 indicates that for each entity A 1210, there is exactly one1214 entity X 1212. A 1:n cardinality 1216 between entities A 1218 and X1220 indicates that for each entity A 1218, there are one or more 1222entity Xs 1220. A 1:cn cardinality 1224 between entities A 1226 and X1228 indicates that for each entity A 1226, there are any number 1230 ofentity Xs 1228 (i.e., 0 through n Xs for each A).

(2) Types of Relationships

(a) Composition

A composition or hierarchical relationship type is a strong whole-partrelationship which is used to describe the structure within an object.The parts, or dependent entities, represent a semantic refinement orpartition of the whole, or less dependent entity. For example, asdepicted in FIG. 13, the components 1302, wheels 1304, and doors 1306may be combined to form the composite 1300 “Car” 1308 using thecomposition 1310. FIG. 14 depicts a graphical representation of thecomposition 1410 between composite Car 1408 and components wheel 1404and door 1406.

(b) Aggregation

An aggregation or an aggregating relationship type is a weak whole-partrelationship between two objects. The dependent object is created by thecombination of one or several less dependent objects. For example, asdepicted in FIG. 15, the properties of a competitor product 1500 aredetermined by a product 1502 and a competitor 1504. A hierarchicalrelationship 1506 exists between the product 1502 and the competitorproduct 1500 because the competitor product 1500 is a component of theproduct 1502. Therefore, the values of the attributes of the competitorproduct 1500 are determined by the product 1502. An aggregatingrelationship 1508 exists between the competitor 1504 and the competitorproduct 1500 because the competitor product 1500 is differentiated bythe competitor 1504. Therefore the values of the attributes of thecompetitor product 1500 are determined by the competitor 1504.

(c) Association

An association or a referential relationship type describes arelationship between two objects in which the dependent object refers tothe less dependent object. For example, as depicted in FIG. 16, a person1600 has a nationality, and thus, has a reference to its country 1602 oforigin. There is an association 1604 between the country 1602 and theperson 1600. The values of the attributes of the person 1600 are notdetermined by the country 1602.

(3) Specialization

Entity types may be divided into subtypes based on characteristics ofthe entity types. For example, FIG. 17 depicts an entity type “vehicle”1700 specialized 1702 into subtypes “truck” 1704, “car” 1706, and “ship”1708. These subtypes represent different aspects or the diversity of theentity type.

Subtypes may be defined based on related attributes. For example,although ships and cars are both vehicles, ships have an attribute,“draft,” that is not found in cars. Subtypes also may be defined basedon certain methods that can be applied to entities of this subtype andthat modify such entities. For example, “drop anchor” can be applied toships. If outgoing relationships to a specific object are restricted toa subset, then a subtype can be defined which reflects this subset.

As depicted in FIG. 18, specializations may further be characterized ascomplete specializations 1800 or incomplete specializations 1802. Thereis a complete specialization 1800 where each entity of the generalizedtype belongs to at least one subtype. With an incomplete specialization1802, there is at least one entity that does not belong to a subtype.Specializations also may be disjoint 1804 or nondisjoint 1806. In adisjoint specialization 1804, each entity of the generalized typebelongs to a maximum of one subtype. With a nondisjoint specialization1806, one entity may belong to more than one subtype. As depicted inFIG. 18, four specialization categories result from the combination ofthe specialization characteristics.

e) Structural Patterns

(1) Item

An item is an entity type which groups together features of anotherentity type. Thus, the features for the entity type chart of accountsare grouped together to form the entity type chart of accounts item. Forexample, a chart of accounts item is a category of values or value flowsthat can be recorded or represented in amounts of money in accounting,while a chart of accounts is a superordinate list of categories ofvalues or value flows that is defined in accounting.

The cardinality between an entity type and its item is often either 1:nor 1:cn. For example, in the case of the entity type chart of accounts,there is a hierarchical relationship of the cardinality 1:n with theentity type chart of accounts item since a chart of accounts has atleast one item in all cases.

(2) Hierarchy

A hierarchy describes the assignment of subordinate entities tosuperordinate entities and vice versa, where several entities of thesame type are subordinate entities that have, at most, one directlysuperordinate entity. For example, in the hierarchy depicted in FIG. 19,entity B 1902 is subordinate to entity A 1900, resulting in therelationship (A,B) 1912. Similarly, entity C 1904 is subordinate toentity A 1900, resulting in the relationship (A,C) 1914. Entity D 1906and entity E 1908 are subordinate to entity B 1902, resulting in therelationships (B,D) 1916 and (B,E) 1918, respectively. Entity F 1910 issubordinate to entity C 1904, resulting in the relationship (C,F) 1920.

Because each entity has at most one superordinate entity, thecardinality between a subordinate entity and its superordinate entity is1:c. Similarly, each entity may have 0, 1 or many subordinate entities.Thus, the cardinality between a superordinate entity and its subordinateentity is 1:cn. FIG. 20 depicts a graphical representation of a ClosingReport Structure Item hierarchy 2000 for a Closing Report Structure Item2002. The hierarchy illustrates the 1:c cardinality 2004 between asubordinate entity and its superordinate entity, and the 1:cncardinality 2006 between a superordinate entity and its subordinateentity.

3. Creation of the Business Object Model

FIGS. 21A-B depict the steps performed using methods and systemsconsistent with the subject matter described herein to create a businessobject model. Although some steps are described as being performed by acomputer, these steps may alternatively be performed manually, orcomputer-assisted, or any combination thereof. Likewise, although somesteps are described as being performed by a computer, these steps mayalso be computer-assisted, or performed manually, or any combinationthereof

As discussed above, the designers create message choreographies thatspecify the sequence of messages between business entities during atransaction. After identifying the messages, the developers identify thefields contained in one of the messages (step 2100, FIG. 21A). Thedesigners then determine whether each field relates to administrativedata or is part of the object (step 2102). Thus, the first eleven fieldsidentified below in the left column are related to administrative data,while the remaining fields are part of the object.

MessageID Admin ReferenceID CreationDate SenderID AdditionalSenderIDContactPersonID SenderAddress RecipientID AdditionalRecipientIDContactPersonID RecipientAddress ID Main Object AdditionalID PostingDateLastChangeDate AcceptanceStatus Note CompleteTransmission IndicatorBuyer BuyerOrganisationName Person Name FunctionalTitle DepartmentNameCountryCode StreetPostalCode POBox Postal Code Company Postal Code CityName DistrictName PO Box ID PO Box Indicator PO Box Country Code PO BoxRegion Code PO Box City Name Street Name House ID Building ID Floor IDRoom ID Care Of Name AddressDescription Telefonnumber MobileNumberFacsimile Email Seller SellerAddress Location LocationTypeDeliveryItemGroupID DeliveryPriority DeliveryCondition TransferLocationNumberofPartialDelivery QuantityTolerance MaximumLeadTimeTransportServiceLevel TranportCondition TransportDescriptionCashDiscountTerms PaymentForm PaymentCardID PaymentCardReferenceIDSequenceID Holder ExpirationDate AttachmentID AttachmentFilenameDescriptionofMessage ConfirmationDescriptionof Message FollowUpActivityItemID ParentItemID HierarchyType ProductID ProductType ProductNoteProductCategoryID Amount BaseQuantity ConfirmedAmountConfirmedBaseQuantity ItemBuyer ItemBuyerOrganisationName Person NameFunctionalTitle DepartmentName CountryCode StreetPostalCode POBox PostalCode Company Postal Code City Name DistrictName PO Box ID PO BoxIndicator PO Box Country Code PO Box Region Code PO Box City Name StreetName House ID Building ID Floor ID Room ID Care Of NameAddressDescription Telefonnumber MobilNumber Facsimile Email ItemSellerItemSellerAddress ItemLocation ItemLocationType ItemDeliveryItemGroupIDItemDeliveryPriority ItemDeliveryCondition ItemTransferLocationItemNumberofPartialDelivery ItemQuantityTolerance ItemMaximumLeadTimeItemTransportServiceLevel ItemTranportCondition ItemTransportDescriptionContractReference QuoteReference CatalogueReference ItemAttachmentIDItemAttachmentFilename ItemDescription ScheduleLineID DeliveryPeriodQuantity ConfirmedScheduleLineID ConfirmedDeliveryPeriodConfirmedQuantity

Next, the designers determine the proper name for the object accordingto the ISO 11179 naming standards (step 2104). In the example above, theproper name for the “Main Object” is “Purchase Order.” After naming theobject, the system that is creating the business object model determineswhether the object already exists in the business object model (step2106). If the object already exists, the system integrates newattributes from the message into the existing object (step 2108), andthe process is complete.

If at step 2106 the system determines that the object does not exist inthe business object model, the designers model the internal objectstructure (step 2110). To model the internal structure, the designersdefine the components. For the above example, the designers may definethe components identified below.

ID Purchase AdditionalID Order PostingDate LastChangeDateAcceptanceStatus Note CompleteTransmission Indicator Buyer BuyerBuyerOrganisationName Person Name FunctionalTitle DepartmentNameCountryCode StreetPostalCode POBox Postal Code Company Postal Code CityName DistrictName PO Box ID PO Box Indicator PO Box Country Code PO BoxRegion Code PO Box City Name Street Name House ID Building ID Floor IDRoom ID Care Of Name AddressDescription Telefonnumber MobileNumberFacsimile Email Seller Seller SellerAddress Location LocationLocationType DeliveryItemGroupID Delivery- DeliveryPriority TermsDeliveryCondition TransferLocation NumberofPartialDeliveryQuantityTolerance MaximumLeadTime TransportServiceLevelTranportCondition TransportDescription CashDiscountTerms PaymentFormPayment PaymentCardID PaymentCardReferenceID SequenceID HolderExpirationDate AttachmentID AttachmentFilename DescriptionofMessageConfirmationDescriptionof Message FollowUpActivity ItemID PurchaseParentItemID Order Item HierarchyType ProductID Product ProductTypeProductNote ProductCategoryID ProductCategory Amount BaseQuantityConfirmedAmount ConfirmedBaseQuantity ItemBuyer BuyerItemBuyerOrganisation Name Person Name FunctionalTitle DepartmentNameCountryCode StreetPostalCode POBox Postal Code Company Postal Code CityName DistrictName PO Box ID PO Box Indicator PO Box Country Code PO BoxRegion Code PO Box City Name Street Name House ID Building ID Floor IDRoom ID Care Of Name AddressDescription Telefonnumber MobilNumberFacsimile Email ItemSeller Seller ItemSellerAddress ItemLocationLocation ItemLocationType ItemDeliveryItemGroupID ItemDeliveryPriorityItemDeliveryCondition ItemTransferLocation ItemNumberofPartial DeliveryItemQuantityTolerance ItemMaximumLeadTime ItemTransportServiceLevelItemTranportCondition ItemTransportDescription ContractReferenceContract QuoteReference Quote CatalogueReference CatalogueItemAttachmentID ItemAttachmentFilename ItemDescription ScheduleLineIDDeliveryPeriod Quantity ConfirmedScheduleLineID ConfirmedDeliveryPeriodConfirmedQuantity

During the step of modeling the internal structure, the designers alsomodel the complete internal structure by identifying the compositions ofthe components and the corresponding cardinalities, as shown below.

PurchaseOrder 1 Buyer 0 . . . 1 Address 0 . . . 1 ContactPerson 0 . . .1 Address 0 . . . 1 Seller 0 . . . 1 Location 0 . . . 1 Address 0 . . .1 DeliveryTerms 0 . . . 1 Incoterms 0 . . . 1 PartialDelivery 0 . . . 1QuantityTolerance 0 . . . 1 Transport 0 . . . 1 CashDiscount 0 . . . 1Terms MaximumCashDiscount 0 . . . 1 NormalCashDiscount 0 . . . 1PaymentForm 0 . . . 1 PaymentCard 0 . . . 1 Attachment 0 . . . nDescription 0 . . . 1 Confirmation 0 . . . 1 Description Item 0 . . . nHierarchyRelationship 0 . . . 1 Product 0 . . . 1 ProductCategory 0 . .. 1 Price 0 . . . 1 NetunitPrice 0 . . . 1 ConfirmedPrice 0 . . . 1NetunitPrice 0 . . . 1 Buyer 0 . . . 1 Seller 0 . . . 1 Location 0 . . .1 DeliveryTerms 0 . . . 1 Attachment 0 . . . n Description 0 . . . 1ConfirmationDescription 0 . . . 1 ScheduleLine 0 . . . n DeliveryPeriod1 ConfirmedScheduleLine 0 . . . n

After modeling the internal object structure, the developers identifythe subtypes and generalizations for all objects and components (step2112). For example, the Purchase Order may have subtypes Purchase OrderUpdate, Purchase Order Cancellation and Purchase Order Information.Purchase Order Update may include Purchase Order Request, Purchase OrderChange, and Purchase Order Confirmation. Moreover, Party may beidentified as the generalization of Buyer and Seller. The subtypes andgeneralizations for the above example are shown below.

Purchase 1 Order PurchaseOrder Update PurchaseOrder RequestPurchaseOrder Change PurchaseOrder Confirmation PurchaseOrderCancellation PurchaseOrder Information Party BuyerParty 0 . . . 1Address 0 . . . 1 ContactPerson 0 . . . 1 Address 0 . . . 1 SellerParty0 . . . 1 Location ShipToLocation 0 . . . 1 Address 0 . . . 1ShipFromLocation 0 . . . 1 Address 0 . . . 1 DeliveryTerms 0 . . . 1Incoterms 0 . . . 1 PartialDelivery 0 . . . 1 QuantityTolerance 0 . . .1 Transport 0 . . . 1 CashDiscount 0 . . . 1 Terms MaximumCash Discount0 . . . 1 NormalCashDiscount 0 . . . 1 PaymentForm 0 . . . 1 PaymentCard0 . . . 1 Attachment 0 . . . n Description 0 . . . 1 Confirmation 0 . .. 1 Description Item 0 . . . n HierarchyRelationship 0 . . . 1 Product 0. . . 1 ProductCategory 0 . . . 1 Price 0 . . . 1 NetunitPrice 0 . . . 1ConfirmedPrice 0 . . . 1 NetunitPrice 0 . . . 1 Party BuyerParty 0 . . .1 SellerParty 0 . . . 1 Location ShipTo 0 . . . 1 Location ShipFrom 0 .. . 1 Location DeliveryTerms 0 . . . 1 Attachment 0 . . . n Description0 . . . 1 Confirmation 0 . . . 1 Description ScheduleLine 0 . . . nDelivery 1 Period ConfirmedScheduleLine 0 . . . n

After identifying the subtypes and generalizations, the developersassign the attributes to these components (step 2114). The attributesfor a portion of the components are shown below.

Purchase 1 Order ID 1 SellerID 0 . . . 1 BuyerPosting 0 . . . 1 DateTimeBuyerLast 0 . . . 1 ChangeDate Time SellerPosting 0 . . . 1 DateTimeSellerLast 0 . . . 1 ChangeDate Time Acceptance 0 . . . 1 StatusCodeNote 0 . . . 1 ItemList 0 . . . 1 Complete Transmission IndicatorBuyerParty 0 . . . 1 StandardID 0 . . . n BuyerID 0 . . . 1 SellerID 0 .. . 1 Address 0 . . . 1 ContactPerson 0 . . . 1 BuyerID 0 . . . 1SellerID 0 . . . 1 Address 0 . . . 1 SellerParty 0 . . . 1 Product 0 . .. 1 RecipientParty VendorParty 0 . . . 1 Manufacturer 0 . . . 1 PartyBillToParty 0 . . . 1 PayerParty 0 . . . 1 CarrierParty 0 . . . 1 ShipTo0 . . . 1 Location StandardID 0 . . . n BuyerID 0 . . . 1 SellerID 0 . .. 1 Address 0 . . . 1 ShipFrom 0 . . . 1 Location

The system then determines whether the component is one of the objectnodes in the business object model (step 2116, FIG. 21B). If the systemdetermines that the component is one of the object nodes in the businessobject model, the system integrates a reference to the correspondingobject node from the business object model into the object (step 2118).In the above example, the system integrates the reference to the Buyerparty represented by an ID and the reference to the ShipToLocationrepresented by an into the object, as shown below. The attributes thatwere formerly located in the PurchaseOrder object are now assigned tothe new found object party. Thus, the attributes are removed from to thePurchaseOrder object.

PurchaseOrder ID SellerID BuyerPostingDateTime BuyerLastChangeDateTimeSellerPostingDateTime SellerLastChangeDateTime AcceptanceStatusCode NoteItemListComplete TransmissionIndicator BuyerParty ID SellerPartyProductRecipientParty VendorParty ManufacturerParty BillToPartyPayerParty CarrierParty ShipToLocation ID ShipFromLocation

During the integration step, the designers classify the relationship(i.e., aggregation or association) between the object node and theobject being integrated into the business object model. The system alsointegrates the new attributes into the object node (step 2120). If atstep 2116, the system determines that the component is not in thebusiness object model, the system adds the component to the businessobject model (step 2122).

Regardless of whether the component was in the business object model atstep 2116, the next step in creating the business object model is to addthe integrity rules (step 2124). There are several levels of integrityrules and constraints which should be described. These levels includeconsistency rules between attributes, consistency rules betweencomponents, and consistency rules to other objects. Next, the designersdetermine the services offered, which can be accessed via interfaces(step 2126). The services offered in the example above includePurchaseOrderCreateRequest, PurchaseOrderCancellationRequest, andPurchaseOrderReleaseRequest. The system then receives an indication ofthe location for the object in the business object model (step 2128).After receiving the indication of the location, the system integratesthe object into the business object model (step 2130).

4. Structure of the Business Object Model

The business object model, which serves as the basis for the process ofgenerating consistent interfaces, includes the elements contained withinthe interfaces. These elements are arranged in a hierarchical structurewithin the business object model.

5. Interfaces Derived from Business Object Model

Interfaces are the starting point of the communication between twobusiness entities. The structure of each interface determines how onebusiness entity communicates with another business entity. The businessentities may act as a unified whole when, based on the businessscenario, the business entities know what an interface contains from abusiness perspective and how to fill the individual elements or fieldsof the interface. As illustrated in FIG. 27A, communication betweencomponents takes place via messages that contain business documents(e.g., business document 27002). The business document 27002 ensures aholistic business-related understanding for the recipient of themessage. The business documents are created and accepted or consumed byinterfaces, specifically by inbound and outbound interfaces. Theinterface structure and, hence, the structure of the business documentare derived by a mapping rule. This mapping rule is known as“hierarchization.” An interface structure thus has a hierarchicalstructure created based on the leading business object 27000. Theinterface represents a usage-specific, hierarchical view of theunderlying usage-neutral object model.

As illustrated in FIG. 27B, several business document objects 27006,27008, and 27010 as overlapping views may be derived for a given leadingobject 27004. Each business document object results from the objectmodel by hierarchization.

To illustrate the hierarchization process, FIG. 27C depicts an exampleof an object model 27012 (i.e., a portion of the business object model)that is used to derive a service operation signature (business documentobject structure). As depicted, leading object X 27014 in the objectmodel 27012 is integrated in a net of object A 27016, object B 27018,and object C 27020. Initially, the parts of the leading object 27014that are required for the business object document are adopted. In onevariation, all parts required for a business document object are adoptedfrom leading object 27014 (making such an operation a maximal serviceoperation). Based on these parts, the relationships to the superordinateobjects (i.e., objects A, B, and C from which object X depends) areinverted. In other words, these objects are adopted as dependent orsubordinate objects in the new business document object.

For example, object A 27016, object B 27018, and object C 27020 haveinformation that characterize object X. Because object A 27016, object B27018, and object C 27020 are superordinate to leading object X 27014,the dependencies of these relationships change so that object A 27016,object B 27018, and object C 27020 become dependent and subordinate toleading object X 27014. This procedure is known as “derivation of thebusiness document object by hierarchization.”

Business-related objects generally have an internal structure (parts).This structure can be complex and reflect the individual parts of anobject and their mutual dependency. When creating the operationsignature, the internal structure of an object is strictly hierarchized.Thus, dependent parts keep their dependency structure, and relationshipsbetween the parts within the object that do not represent thehierarchical structure are resolved by prioritizing one of therelationships.

Relationships of object X to external objects that are referenced andwhose information characterizes object X are added to the operationsignature. Such a structure can be quite complex (see, for example, FIG.27D). The cardinality to these referenced objects is adopted as 1:1 or1:C, respectively. By this, the direction of the dependency changes. Therequired parts of this referenced object are adopted identically, bothin their cardinality and in their dependency arrangement.

The newly created business document object contains all requiredinformation, including the incorporated master data information of thereferenced objects. As depicted in

FIG. 27D, components Xi in leading object X 27022 are adopted directly.The relationship of object X 27022 to object A 27024, object B 27028,and object C 27026 are inverted, and the parts required by these objectsare added as objects that depend from object X 27022. As depicted, allof object A 27024 is adopted. B3 and B4 are adopted from object B 27028,but B1 is not adopted. From object C 27026, C2 and C1 are adopted, butC3 is not adopted.

FIG. 27E depicts the business document object X 27030 created by thishierarchization process. As shown, the arrangement of the elementscorresponds to their dependency levels, which directly leads to acorresponding representation as an XML structure 27032.

The following provides certain rules that can be adopted singly or incombination with regard to the hierarchization process. A businessdocument object always refers to a leading business document object andis derived from this object. The name of the root entity in the businessdocument entity is the name of the business object or the name of aspecialization of the business object or the name of a service specificview onto the business object. The nodes and elements of the businessobject that are relevant (according to the semantics of the associatedmessage type) are contained as entities and elements in the businessdocument object.

The name of a business document entity is predefined by the name of thecorresponding business object node. The name of the superordinate entityis not repeated in the name of the business document entity. The “full”semantic name results from the concatenation of the entity names alongthe hierarchical structure of the business document object.

The structure of the business document object is, except for deviationsdue to hierarchization, the same as the structure of the businessobject. The cardinalities of the business document object nodes andelements are adopted identically or more restrictively to the businessdocument object. An object from which the leading business object isdependent can be adopted to the business document object. For thisarrangement, the relationship is inverted, and the object (or its parts,respectively) are hierarchically subordinated in the business documentobject.

Nodes in the business object representing generalized businessinformation can be adopted as explicit entities to the business documentobject (generally speaking, multiply TypeCodes out). When this adoptionoccurs, the entities are named according to their more specific semantic(name of TypeCode becomes prefix). Party nodes of the business objectare modeled as explicit entities for each party role in the businessdocument object. These nodes are given the name <Prefix><PartyRole>Party, for example, BuyerParty, ItemBuyerParty. BTDReference nodesare modeled as separate entities for each reference type in the businessdocument object. These nodes are given the name<Qualifier><BO><Node>Reference, for example SalesOrderReference,OriginSalesOrderReference, SalesOrderItemReference. A product node inthe business object comprises all of the information on the Product,ProductCategory, and Batch. This information is modeled in the businessdocument object as explicit entities for Product, ProductCategory, andBatch.

Entities which are connected by a 1:1 relationship as a result ofhierarchization can be combined to a single entity, if they aresemantically equivalent. Such a combination can often occurs if a nodein the business document object that results from an assignment node isremoved because it does not have any elements.

The message type structure is typed with data types. Elements are typedby GDTs according to their business objects. Aggregated levels are typedwith message type specific data types (Intermediate Data Types), withtheir names being built according to the corresponding paths in themessage type structure. The whole message type structured is typed by amessage data type with its name being built according to the root entitywith the suffix “Message”. For the message type, the message category(e.g., information, notification, query, response, request,confirmation, etc.) is specified according to the suited transactioncommunication pattern.

In one variation, the derivation by hierarchization can be initiated byspecifying a leading business object and a desired view relevant for aselected service operation. This view determines the business documentobject. The leading business object can be the source object, the targetobject, or a third object. Thereafter, the parts of the business objectrequired for the view are determined. The parts are connected to theroot node via a valid path along the hierarchy. Thereafter, one or moreindependent objects (object parts, respectively) referenced by theleading object which are relevant for the service may be determined(provided that a relationship exists between the leading object and theone or more independent objects).

Once the selection is finalized, relevant nodes of the leading objectnode that are structurally identical to the message type structure canthen be adopted. If nodes are adopted from independent objects or objectparts, the relationships to such independent objects or object parts areinverted. Linearization can occur such that a business object nodecontaining certain TypeCodes is represented in the message typestructure by explicit entities (an entity for each value of theTypeCode). The structure can be reduced by checking all 1:1cardinalities in the message type structure. Entities can be combined ifthey are semantically equivalent, one of the entities carries noelements, or an entity solely results from an n:m assignment in thebusiness object.

After the hierarchization is completed, information regardingtransmission of the business document object (e.g.,CompleteTransmissionIndicator, ActionCodes, message category, etc.) canbe added. A standardized message header can be added to the message typestructure and the message structure can be typed. Additionally, themessage category for the message type can be designated.

Invoice Request and Invoice Confirmation are examples of interfaces.These invoice interfaces are used to exchange invoices and invoiceconfirmations between an invoicing party and an invoice recipient (suchas between a seller and a buyer) in a B2B process. Companies can createinvoices in electronic as well as in paper form. Traditional methods ofcommunication, such as mail or fax, for invoicing are cost intensive,prone to error, and relatively slow, since the data is recordedmanually. Electronic communication eliminates such problems. Themotivating business scenarios for the Invoice Request and InvoiceConfirmation interfaces are the Procure to Stock (PTS) and Sell fromStock (SFS) scenarios.

In the PTS scenario, the parties use invoice interfaces to purchase andsettle goods. In the SFS scenario, the parties use invoice interfaces tosell and invoice goods. The invoice interfaces directly integrate theapplications implementing them and also form the basis for mapping datato widely-used XML standard formats such as RosettaNet, PIDX, xCBL, andCIDX.

The invoicing party may use two different messages to map a B2Binvoicing process: (1) the invoicing party sends the message typeInvoiceRequest to the invoice recipient to start a new invoicingprocess; and (2) the invoice recipient sends the message typeInvoiceConfirmation to the invoicing party to confirm or reject anentire invoice or to temporarily assign it the status “pending.”

An InvoiceRequest is a legally binding notification of claims orliabilities for delivered goods and rendered services—usually, a paymentrequest for the particular goods and services. The message typeInvoiceRequest is based on the message data type InvoiceMessage. TheInvoiceRequest message (as defined) transfers invoices in the broadersense. This includes the specific invoice (request to settle aliability), the debit memo, and the credit memo.

InvoiceConfirmation is a response sent by the recipient to the invoicingparty confirming or rejecting the entire invoice received or statingthat it has been assigned temporarily the status “pending.” The messagetype InvoiceConfirmation is based on the message data typeInvoiceMessage. An InvoiceConfirmation is not mandatory in a B2Binvoicing process, however, it automates collaborative processes anddispute management.

Usually, the invoice is created after it has been confirmed that thegoods were delivered or the service was provided. The invoicing party(such as the seller) starts the invoicing process by sending anInvoiceRequest message. Upon receiving the InvoiceRequest message, theinvoice recipient (for instance, the buyer) can use theInvoiceConfirmation message to completely accept or reject the invoicereceived or to temporarily assign it the status “pending.” TheInvoiceConfirmation is not a negotiation tool (as is the case in ordermanagement), since the options available are either to accept or rejectthe entire invoice. The invoice data in the InvoiceConfirmation messagemerely confirms that the invoice has been forwarded correctly and doesnot communicate any desired changes to the invoice. Therefore, theInvoiceConfirmation includes the precise invoice data that the invoicerecipient received and checked. If the invoice recipient rejects aninvoice, the invoicing party can send a new invoice after checking thereason for rejection (AcceptanceStatus and ConfirmationDescription atInvoice and InvoiceItem level). If the invoice recipient does notrespond, the invoice is generally regarded as being accepted and theinvoicing party can expect payment.

FIGS. 22A-F depict a flow diagram of the steps performed by methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein to generatean interface from the business object model. Although described as beingperformed by a computer, these steps may alternatively be performedmanually, or using any combination thereof. The process begins when thesystem receives an indication of a package template from the designer,i.e., the designer provides a package template to the system (step2200).

Package templates specify the arrangement of packages within a businesstransaction document. Package templates are used to define the overallstructure of the messages sent between business entities. Methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein use packagetemplates in conjunction with the business object model to derive theinterfaces.

The system also receives an indication of the message type from thedesigner (step 2202). The system selects a package from the packagetemplate (step 2204), and receives an indication from the designerwhether the package is required for the interface (step 2206). If thepackage is not required for the interface, the system removes thepackage from the package template (step 2208). The system then continuesthis analysis for the remaining packages within the package template(step 2210).

If, at step 2206, the package is required for the interface, the systemcopies the entity template from the package in the business object modelinto the package in the package template (step 2212, FIG. 22B). Thesystem determines whether there is a specialization in the entitytemplate (step 2214). If the system determines that there is aspecialization in the entity template, the system selects a subtype forthe specialization (step 2216). The system may either select the subtypefor the specialization based on the message type, or it may receive thisinformation from the designer. The system then determines whether thereare any other specializations in the entity template (step 2214). Whenthe system determines that there are no specializations in the entitytemplate, the system continues this analysis for the remaining packageswithin the package template (step 2210, FIG. 22A).

At step 2210, after the system completes its analysis for the packageswithin the package template, the system selects one of the packagesremaining in the package template (step 2218, FIG. 22C), and selects anentity from the package (step 2220). The system receives an indicationfrom the designer whether the entity is required for the interface (step2222). If the entity is not required for the interface, the systemremoves the entity from the package template (step 2224). The systemthen continues this analysis for the remaining entities within thepackage (step 2226), and for the remaining packages within the packagetemplate (step 2228).

If, at step 2222, the entity is required for the interface, the systemretrieves the cardinality between a superordinate entity and the entityfrom the business object model (step 2230, FIG. 22D). The system alsoreceives an indication of the cardinality between the superordinateentity and the entity from the designer (step 2232). The system thendetermines whether the received cardinality is a subset of the businessobject model cardinality (step 2234). If the received cardinality is nota subset of the business object model cardinality, the system sends anerror message to the designer (step 2236). If the received cardinalityis a subset of the business object model cardinality, the system assignsthe received cardinality as the cardinality between the superordinateentity and the entity (step 2238). The system then continues thisanalysis for the remaining entities within the package (step 2226, FIG.22C), and for the remaining packages within the package template (step2228).

The system then selects a leading object from the package template (step2240, FIG. 22E). The system determines whether there is an entitysuperordinate to the leading object (step 2242). If the systemdetermines that there is an entity superordinate to the leading object,the system reverses the direction of the dependency (step 2244) andadjusts the cardinality between the leading object and the entity (step2246). The system performs this analysis for entities that aresuperordinate to the leading object (step 2242). If the systemdetermines that there are no entities superordinate to the leadingobject, the system identifies the leading object as analyzed (step2248).

The system then selects an entity that is subordinate to the leadingobject (step 2250, FIG. 22F). The system determines whether anynon-analyzed entities are superordinate to the selected entity (step2252). If a non-analyzed entity is superordinate to the selected entity,the system reverses the direction of the dependency (step 2254) andadjusts the cardinality between the selected entity and the non-analyzedentity (step 2256). The system performs this analysis for non-analyzedentities that are superordinate to the selected entity (step 2252). Ifthe system determines that there are no non-analyzed entitiessuperordinate to the selected entity, the system identifies the selectedentity as analyzed (step 2258), and continues this analysis for entitiesthat are subordinate to the leading object (step 2260). After thepackages have been analyzed, the system substitutes theBusinessTransactionDocument (“BTD”) in the package template with thename of the interface (step 2262). This includes the “BTD” in theBTDItem package and the “BTD” in the BTDItemScheduleLine package.

6. Use of an Interface

The XI stores the interfaces (as an interface type). At runtime, thesending party's program instantiates the interface to create a businessdocument, and sends the business document in a message to the recipient.The messages are preferably defined using XML. In the example depictedin FIG. 23, the Buyer 2300 uses an application 2306 in its system toinstantiate an interface 2308 and create an interface object or businessdocument object 2310. The Buyer's application 2306 uses data that is inthe sender's component-specific structure and fills the businessdocument object 2310 with the data. The Buyer's application 2306 thenadds message identification 2312 to the business document and places thebusiness document into a message 2302. The Buyer's application 2306sends the message 2302 to the Vendor 2304. The Vendor 2304 uses anapplication 2314 in its system to receive the message 2302 and store thebusiness document into its own memory. The Vendor's application 2314unpacks the message 2302 using the corresponding interface 2316 storedin its XI to obtain the relevant data from the interface object orbusiness document object 2318.

From the component's perspective, the interface is represented by aninterface proxy 2400, as depicted in FIG. 24. The proxies 2400 shieldthe components 2402 of the sender and recipient from the technicaldetails of sending messages 2404 via XI. In particular, as depicted inFIG. 25, at the sending end, the Buyer 2500 uses an application 2510 inits system to call an implemented method 2512, which generates theoutbound proxy 2506. The outbound proxy 2506 parses the internal datastructure of the components and converts them to the XML structure inaccordance with the business document object. The outbound proxy 2506packs the document into a message 2502. Transport, routing and mappingthe XML message to the recipient 28304 is done by the routing system(XI, modeling environment 516, etc.).

When the message arrives, the recipient's inbound proxy 2508 calls itscomponent-specific method 2514 for creating a document. The proxy 2508at the receiving end downloads the data and converts the XML structureinto the internal data structure of the recipient component 2504 forfurther processing.

As depicted in FIG. 26A, a message 2600 includes a message header 2602and a business document 2604. The message 2600 also may include anattachment 2606. For example, the sender may attach technical drawings,detailed specifications or pictures of a product to a purchase order forthe product. The business document 2604 includes a business documentmessage header 2608 and the business document object 2610. The businessdocument message header 2608 includes administrative data, such as themessage ID and a message description. As discussed above, the structure2612 of the business document object 2610 is derived from the businessobject model 2614. Thus, there is a strong correlation between thestructure of the business document object and the structure of thebusiness object model. The business document object 2610 forms the coreof the message 2600.

In collaborative processes as well as Q&A processes, messages shouldrefer to documents from previous messages. A simple business documentobject ID or object ID is insufficient to identify individual messagesuniquely because several versions of the same business document objectcan be sent during a transaction. A business document object ID with aversion number also is insufficient because the same version of abusiness document object can be sent several times. Thus, messagesrequire several identifiers during the course of a transaction.

As depicted in FIG. 26B, the message header 2618 in message 2616includes a technical ID (“ID4”) 2622 that identifies the address for acomputer to route the message. The sender's system manages the technicalID 2622.

The administrative information in the business document message header2624 of the payload or business document 2620 includes aBusinessDocumentMessageID (“ID3”) 2628. The business entity or component2632 of the business entity manages and sets theBusinessDocumentMessageID 2628. The business entity or component 2632also can refer to other business documents using theBusinessDocumentMessageID 2628. The receiving component 2632 requires noknowledge regarding the structure of this ID. TheBusinessDocumentMessageID 2628 is, as an ID, unique. Creation of amessage refers to a point in time. No versioning is typically expressedby the ID. Besides the BusinessDocumentMessageID 2628, there also is abusiness document object ID 2630, which may include versions.

The component 2632 also adds its own component object ID 2634 when thebusiness document object is stored in the component. The componentobject ID 2634 identifies the business document object when it is storedwithin the component. However, not all communication partners may beaware of the internal structure of the component object ID 2634. Somecomponents also may include a versioning in their ID 2634.

7. Use of Interfaces Across Industries

Methods and systems consistent with the subject matter described hereinprovide interfaces that may be used across different business areas fordifferent industries. Indeed, the interfaces derived using methods andsystems consistent with the subject matter described herein may bemapped onto the interfaces of different industry standards. Unlike theinterfaces provided by any given standard that do not include theinterfaces required by other standards, methods and systems consistentwith the subject matter described herein provide a set of consistentinterfaces that correspond to the interfaces provided by differentindustry standards. Due to the different fields provided by eachstandard, the interface from one standard does not easily map ontoanother standard. By comparison, to map onto the different industrystandards, the interfaces derived using methods and systems consistentwith the subject matter described herein include most of the fieldsprovided by the interfaces of to different industry standards. Missingfields may easily be included into the business object model. Thus, byderivation, the interfaces can be extended consistently by these fields.Thus, methods and systems consistent with the subject matter describedherein provide consistent interfaces or services that can be used acrossdifferent industry standards.

For example, FIG. 28 illustrates an example method 2800 for serviceenabling. In this example, the enterprise services infrastructure mayoffer one common and standard-based service infrastructure. Further, onecentral enterprise services repository may support uniform servicedefinition, implementation and usage of services for user interface, andcross-application communication. In step 2801, a business object isdefined via a process component model in a process modeling phase. Next,in step 2802, the business object is designed within an enterpriseservices repository. For example, FIG. 29 provides a graphicalrepresentation of one of the business objects 2900. As shown, aninnermost layer or kernel 2901 of the business object may represent thebusiness object's inherent data. Inherent data may include, for example,an employee's name, age, status, position, address, etc. A second layer2902 may be considered the business object's logic. Thus, the layer 2902includes the rules for consistently embedding the business object in asystem environment as well as constraints defining values and domainsapplicable to the business object. For example, one such constraint maylimit sale of an item only to a customer with whom a company has abusiness relationship. A third layer 2903 includes validation optionsfor accessing the business object. For example, the third layer 2903defines the business object's interface that may be interfaced by otherbusiness objects or applications. A fourth layer 2904 is the accesslayer that defines technologies that may externally access the businessobject.

Accordingly, the third layer 2903 separates the inherent data of thefirst layer 2901 and the technologies used to access the inherent data.As a result of the described structure, the business object reveals onlyan interface that includes a set of clearly defined methods. Thus,applications access the business object via those defined methods. Anapplication wanting access to the business object and the dataassociated therewith usually includes the information or data to executethe clearly defined methods of the business object's interface. Suchclearly defined methods of the business object's interface represent thebusiness object's behavior. That is, when the methods are executed, themethods may change the business object's data. Therefore, an applicationmay utilize any business object by providing the information or datawithout having any concern for the details related to the internaloperation of the business object. Returning to method 2800, a serviceprovider class and data dictionary elements are generated within adevelopment environment at step 2803. In step 2804, the service providerclass is implemented within the development environment.

FIG. 30 illustrates an example method 3000 for a process agentframework. For example, the process agent framework may be the basicinfrastructure to integrate business processes located in differentdeployment units. It may support a loose coupling of these processes bymessage based integration. A process agent may encapsulate the processintegration logic and separate it from business logic of businessobjects. As shown in FIG. 30, an integration scenario and a processcomponent interaction model are defined during a process modeling phasein step 3001. In step 3002, required interface operations and processagents are identified during the process modeling phase also. Next, instep 3003, a service interface, service interface operations, and therelated process agent are created within an enterprise servicesrepository as defined in the process modeling phase. In step 3004, aproxy class for the service interface is generated. Next, in step 3005,a process agent class is created and the process agent is registered. Instep 3006, the agent class is implemented within a developmentenvironment.

FIG. 31 illustrates an example method 3100 for status and actionmanagement (S&AM). For example, status and action management maydescribe the life cycle of a business object (node) by defining actionsand statuses (as their result) of the business object (node), as wellas, the constraints that the statuses put on the actions. In step 3101,the status and action management schemas are modeled per a relevantbusiness object node within an enterprise services repository. In step3102, existing statuses and actions from the business object model areused or new statuses and actions are created. Next, in step 3103, theschemas are simulated to verify correctness and completeness. In step3104, missing actions, statuses, and derivations are created in thebusiness object model with the enterprise services repository.Continuing with method 3100, the statuses are related to correspondingelements in the node in step 3105. In step 3106, status code GDT's aregenerated, including constants and code list providers. Next, in step3107, a proxy class for a business object service provider is generatedand the proxy class S&AM schemas are imported. In step 3108, the serviceprovider is implemented and the status and action management runtimeinterface is called from the actions.

Regardless of the particular hardware or software architecture used, thedisclosed systems or software are generally capable of implementingbusiness objects and deriving (or otherwise utilizing) consistentinterfaces that are suitable for use across industries, acrossbusinesses, and across different departments within a business inaccordance with some or all of the following description. In short,system 100 contemplates using any appropriate combination andarrangement of logical elements to implement some or all of thedescribed functionality.

Moreover, the preceding flowcharts and accompanying descriptionillustrate example methods. The present services environmentcontemplates using or implementing any suitable technique for performingthese and other tasks. It will be understood that these methods are forillustration purposes only and that the described or similar techniquesmay be performed at any appropriate time, including concurrently,individually, or in combination. In addition, many of the steps in theseflowcharts may take place simultaneously and/or in different orders thanas shown. Moreover, the services environment may use methods withadditional steps, fewer steps, and/or different steps, so long as themethods remain appropriate.

FIGS. 32-1 through 32-2 collectively illustrate an example object modelfor an appointment activity business object 32000. Specifically, theobject model depicts interactions among various components of theappointment activity business object 32000, as well as externalcomponents that interact with the appointment activity business object32000 (shown here as 32002 through 32030 and 32052 through 32080). Theappointment activity business object 32000 includes elements 32032through 32050, which can be hierarchical, as depicted, and usecardinality relationships, as described above. For example, theappointment activity entity 32032 hierarchically includes businesstransaction document reference entity 32034 and business process varianttype entity 32038, among others. Some or all of the entities 32032through 32050 can correspond to packages and/or entities in the messagedata types described below.

The business object Appointment Activity is a planned or unplannedactivity that is maintained in a calendar of an employee of a company.The business object Appointment Activity includes external appointmentsand scheduled meetings with other business partners. An appointmentusually includes information regarding the business partner involved,the date on which the appointment is to take place, and whether it isrelated to business or is private in nature. The Appointment Activitybusiness object belongs to the process component Activity Management.The Appointment Activity business object belongs to the deployment unitFoundation. The Appointment Activity business object is a projection ofActivity_Template.

An activity template is a template for business transaction documentswithin activity management which represents interactions and tasksundertaken by employees on behalf of a company. In some implementations,a template is not a business object in a business sense. That is, atemplate might not be included in a business object map and might not beused in any process component as a business object. In someimplementations, a template is not instantiated. A template can be usedto ensure the consistency, integrity, and reusability of businessobjects that are derived from the template. The following businessobjects are derived from the activity template using projection:Appointment Activity, Email Activity, Letter Activity, Fax Activity,Phone Call Activity, Activity TO (Task Object), and Activity Task. Thebusiness object Appointment Activity has an object category of BusinessTransaction Document and a technical category of Standard BusinessObject.

The business object Appointment Activity is involved in the followingProcess Component Interactions: Activity Management_Standard BasedGroupware_Calendar Event, Activity Processing_External ActivityProcessing_Appointment Replication, External ActivityManagement_Activity Management, External Activity Management_ActivityManagement_Manage Appointment Activity, External ActivityManagement_Activity Management_Query Appointment Activity, ExternalActivity Processing_Activity Processing_Appointment Replication, andStandard Based Groupware_Activity Management_Calendar Event.

A service interface Appointment Activity Replication ConfirmationInitiated by External Out has a technical name ofAppointmentActivityReplicationConfirmationInitiatedByExternalOut, and ispart of the process component interaction External ActivityProcessing_Activity Processing_Appointment Replication. An operationProcess Appointment Activity Replication Confirmation has a technicalname of

AppointmentActivityReplicationConfirmationInitiatedByExternalOut.ProcessAppointmentActivityReplicationConfirmation,and can be based on a message type Appointment

Activity Replication Confirmation that is derived from the businessobject Appointment Activity.

A service interface Appointment Activity Bulk Replication ConfirmationIn has a technical name ofAppointmentActivityBulkReplicationConfirmationIn and is part of theprocess component interaction Activity Processing_External ActivityProcessing_Appointment Replication. An operation Process AppointmentActivity Replication Confirmation has a technical name ofAppointmentActivityBulkReplicationConfirmationIn.ProcessAppointmentActivityReplicationConfirmation,and can be based on a message type Appointment Activity ReplicationConfirmation that is derived from the business object AppointmentActivity.

A service interface Appointment Replication Initiated by External In hasa technical name of AppointmentReplicationInitiatedByExternalIn is partof the process component interaction External ActivityProcessing_Activity Processing_Appointment Replication, and is aninterface to replicate an appointment initiated by an external system. AReplicate Appointment operation has a technical name ofAppointmentReplicationInitiatedByExternalIn.ReplicateAppointment, is anoperation that replicates an Appointment Activity, and is based on amessage type Appointment Activity Replication Request that is derivedfrom the business object Appointment Activity.

A service interface Appointment Replication Out has a technical name ofAppointmentReplicationOut, is part of the process component interactionActivity Processing_External Activity Processing_AppointmentReplication, and is an interface to replicate an appointment. A RequestAppointment Replication operation has a technical name ofAppointmentReplicationOut.RequestAppointmentReplication, and is based ona message type Appointment Activity Replication Request that is derivedfrom the business object Appointment Activity.

A service interface Calendar Event Notification In has a technical nameof ActivityManagementCalendarEventNotificationIn, is part of the processcomponent interaction Standard Based Groupware_ActivityManagement_Calendar Event, and is an interface to create, change, orcancel appointment activities. A Cancel Activity operation has atechnical name ofActivityManagementCalendarEventNotificationIn.CancelActivity, can beused to cancel an appointment activity, and is based on the message typeCalendar Event Cancellation Notification. A Maintain Activity operationhas a technical name ofActivityManagementCalendarEventNotificationIn.MaintainActivity, can beused to create or change an appointment activity, and is based on amessage type Calendar Event Notification.

A service interface Calendar Event Notification Out has a technical nameof ActivityManagementCalendarEventNotificationOut, is part of theprocess component interaction Activity Management_Standard BasedGroupware_Calendar Event, and is an interface to notify of a creation,change, or cancelation of an appointment activity. A Notify of CalendarEvent operation has a technical name ofActivityManagementCalendarEventNotificationOut.NotifyOfCalendarEvent,can be used to notify of a creation or change of an appointmentactivity, and is based on the message type Calendar Event Notification.A Notify of Calendar Event Cancellation has a technical name ofActivityManagementCalendarEventNotificationOut.NotifyOfCalendarEventCancellation,can be used to notify of a cancelation of an appointment activity, andis based on a message type Calendar Event Cancellation Notification.

A service interface Manage Appointment Activity In has a technical nameof ManageAppointmentActivityIn, and is part of the following processcomponent interactions: External Activity Management_ActivityManagement, and External Activity Management_Activity Management_ManageAppointment Activity. service interface Manage Appointment Activity Inis an interface to replicate appointment activity data from a sourcesystem or file to a target system. A Manage Appointment Activity InCheck Maintain as Bundle operation has a technical name ofManageAppointmentActivityIn.CheckMaintainBundle, can be used to checkwhether one or more appointment activities can be maintained usingimported structured data, and can be based on a message type AppointmentActivity Confirmation Bundle Check Maintain Response_sync that isderived from the business object Appointment Activity and on a messagetype Appointment Activity Request Bundle Check Maintain Query_sync thatis derived from the business object Appointment Activity. A ManageAppointment Activity In Check Maintain as Bundle operation has atechnical name of ManageAppointmentActivityIn.CheckMaintainBundle, canbe used to check if an appointment activity can be created, updated, ordeleted without errors, and can be based on a message type AppointmentActivity Confirmation Bundle Check Maintain Response_sync that isderived from the business object Appointment Activity and on a messagetype Appointment Activity Request Bundle Check Maintain Query_sync thatis derived from the business object Appointment Activity. An operationManage Appointment Activity In Maintain as Bundle has a technical nameof ManageAppointmentActivityIn.MaintainBundle, can be used to maintainone or more appointment activities using imported structured data, andis based on a message type Appointment Activity Bundle MaintainConfirmation_sync that is derived from the business object AppointmentActivity and on a message type Appointment Activity Bundle MaintainRequest_sync that is derived from the business object AppointmentActivity. An operation Manage AppointmentActivity In Maintain as Bundlehas a technical name of ManageAppointmentActivityIn.MaintainBundle, canbe used to create, update, or delete Appointment Activities, and isbased on a message type Appointment Activity Bundle MaintainConfirmation_sync that is derived from the business object AppointmentActivity and on a message type Appointment Activity Bundle MaintainRequest_sync that is derived from the business object AppointmentActivity.

A service interface Query Appointment Activity In has a technical nameof QueryAppointmentActivityIn, is part of the process componentinteraction External Activity Management_Activity Management_QueryAppointment Activity, and is an interface to query appointment activitydata. A Find By Elements operation has a technical name ofQueryAppointmentActivityIn.FindByElements, can be used to findappointment activities, and is based on a message typeAppointmentActivity By Elements Query_Sync that is derived from thebusiness object Appointment Activity and on a message typeAppointmentActivity By Elements Response_sync that is derived from thebusiness object Appointment Activity.

A service interface ZactivityAppointmentOutbound has a technical name ofZactivityAppointmentOutbound. A ZreplicateActivityAppointment operationhas a technical name ofZActivityAppointmentOutbound.ZreplicateActivityAppointment, and is basedon a message type ZActivityAppointmentOutboundMessageType that isderived from the business object Appointment Activity.

The business object Appointment Activity can include a root mode. Asmentioned, an Appointment Activity can represent an interaction or taskused in activity management that is undertaken by employees on behalf ofa company. The Appointment Activity root node can include the priority,sensitivity, and category of an activity, and at least one party that isinvolved in the activity. If applicable, the root node can also includeinformation on locations and attachments that are assigned to theactivity, and can provide detailed information on the activity and areference to a business document that provides a business context of theactivity. Appointment Activity can be time dependent on Time Point.

The elements located directly at the node Appointment Activity aredefined by the inline structure APP_S_ACTV_EL. These elements include:UUID, ID, GroupwareItemID, GroupwareItemCreationDateTime,GroupwareItemLastChangedDateTime,GroupwareSynchronizationRelevanceIndicator,GroupwareItemSynchronizationConflictIndicator,GroupwareItemSynchronizationConflictReasonCode,GroupwareItemProcessingConflictReasonCode, SystemAdministrativeData,TypeCode, ProcessingTypeCode, Name, PriorityCode, InitiatorCode,MessageFromName, InformationSensitivityCode, Group Code,SalesTerritoryID, SalesTerritoryUUID, TerritoryDeterminationMethodCode,DataOriginTypeCode, ReportedDateTime, MigratedDataAdaptationTypeCode,CompletionDateTime, Status,ActivityFollowUpServiceRequestBlockingReasonCode,InitiatingActivityUUID, PredecessorActivityUUID,ActivitySentimentTypeCode, and SocialMediaActivityProviderUUID.

UUID may be an alternative key, is an internally assigned UUID of anActivity on which other business objects can define foreign keys, andmay be based on datatype GDT: UUID. ID may be an alternative key, is aunique identifier for an Activity, may be assigned by the user, and maybe based on datatype GDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentID. GroupwareItemIDmay be an alternative key, is a unique identifier of a groupware itemassigned to an Activity, and may be based on datatype GDT:GroupwareItemID GroupwareItemCreationDateTime may be optional, is a timepoint at which a groupware item has been created, and may be based ondatatype GDT: GLOBAL_DateTime, with a qualifier of Creation. TheCreationDateTime of groupware items can also be used for theidentification of groupware items in a groupware system.GroupwareItemLastChangedDateTime may be optional and may be based ondatatype GDT: GLOBAL_DateTime.GroupwareSynchronizationRelevanceIndicator may be optional, specifieswhether an Activity is relevant for Groupware synchronization, and maybe based on datatype GDT: Indicator, with a qualifier of Relevance.GroupwareItemSynchronizationConflictIndicator may be optional, is anindicator that specifies whether a conflict occurred in synchronizing agroupware item, and may be based on datatype GDT: Indicator.GroupwareItemSynchronizationConflictReasonCode may be optional, is acoded representation of a reason for a conflict during groupware itemsynchronization, and may be based on datatype GDT:GroupwareItemSynchronisationConflictReasonCode. SystemAdministrativeDataincludes administrative data recorded by the system, such as systemusers and change dates/times, and may be based on datatype GDT:SystemAdministrativeData.

TypeCode is a coded representation of an Activity type, or of a businessobject projected from this type, and may be based on datatype GDT:BusinessTransactionDocumentTypeCode. Codes can represent the businessobjects AppointmentActivity, EmailActivity, LetterActivity, FaxActivityand PhoneCallActivity. ProcessingTypeCode is a coded representation ofActivity processing within a process component, and may be based ondatatype GDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentProcessingTypeCode. Name is aname of an Activity, and may be based on datatype GDT: EXTENDED_Name.PriorityCode may be optional, is a priority of an Activity, and may bebased on datatype GDT: PriorityCode. InitiatorCode is a codedrepresentation of whether an Activity was initiated inside or outside acompany, and may be based on datatype GDT: ActivityInitiatorCode.MessageFromName may be optional, is a brief description of an Activityassigned by a sender, and may be based on datatype GDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_MEDIUM_Name. InformationSensitivityCode may beoptional, defines a confidentiality level of an Activity, and may bebased on datatype GDT: InformationSensitivityCode. GroupCode specifies agroup of activities to which an Activity is assigned, and may be basedon datatype GDT: ActivityGroupCode. SalesTerritoryID may be optional andmay be based on datatype GDT: SalesTerritoryID. SalesTerritoryUUID maybe optional and may be based on datatype GDT: UUID.TerritoryDeterminationMethodCode may be optional and may be based ondatatype GDT: TerritoryDeterminationMethodCode. DataOriginTypeCode maybe optional, is a coded representation of where data originates, and maybe based on datatype GDT: ActivityDataOriginTypeCode. The type of sourceof a customer-specific transaction document can provide a technicalsource of a transaction document, such as a technical system in whichthe transaction document was created. ReportedDateTime may be optional,is a time point at which an activity is reported, and may be based ondatatype GDT: GLOBAL_DateTime, with a qualifier of Reported. AReportedTimePoint is a time point that corresponds with aScheduledPeriod/TimePointPeriod/StartTimePoint forAppointmentActivities, PhoneCallActivities and ActivityTasks, and thatcorresponds with a SentTimePoint/TimePoint or ReceiptTimePoint/TimePointfor EmailActivities, LetterActivities and FaxActivities.

MigratedDataAdaptationTypeCode may be optional, is a codedrepresentation of a type of data adaptation performed during migration,and may be based on datatype GDT: MigratedDataAdaptationTypeCode.CompletionDateTime may be optional and may be based on datatype GDT:GLOBAL_DateTime. Status may be optional, is a current step in the lifecycle of the root node, and may be based on datatype BOIDT:ActivityStatus. Status can include Status/LifeCycleStatusCode, which maybe optional, represents the life cycle of an activity, and may be basedon datatype GDT: ActivityLifeCycleStatusCode.ActivityFollowUpServiceRequestBlockingReasonCode may be optional and maybe based on datatype GDT:ActivityFollowUpServiceRequestBlockingReasonCode. InitiatingActivityUUIDmay be optional and may be based on datatype GDT: UUID.PredecessorActivityUUID may be optional and may be based on datatypeGDT: UUID. ActivitySentimentTypeCode may be optional and may be based ondatatype GDT: SentimentTypeCode. SocialMediaActivityProviderUUID may beoptional and may be based on datatype GDT: UUID.

The following composition relationships to subordinate nodes exist:BusinessTransactionDocumentReference, with a cardinality of 1:CN;BusinessProcessVariantType, with a cardinality of 1:N; Location, with acardinality of 1:CN; Party, with a cardinality of 1:CN; and Period, witha cardinality of 1:CN.

The following composition relationships to dependent objects exist:AccessControlList, with a cardinality of 1:1, which is a list of accessgroups that have access to an activity_template; AttachmentFolder, witha cardinality of 1:C, which is a folder for one or more documents inelectronic form including additional information about anactivity_template; and TextCollection, with a cardinality of 1:C, whichis a collection of natural-language texts with additional informationabout an activity_template.

The following inbound association relationship may exist:CreationIdentity, from the business object Identity/node Identity, witha cardinality of 1:CN, which is an identity that has created anActivity; and LastChangeIdentity, from the business object Identity/nodeIdentity, with a cardinality of 1:CN, which is an identity that haschanged an Activity.

The following specialization associations for navigation may exist: MainBusiness Process Variant Type, to the node Business Process VariantType, with a target cardinality of 1, which specifies a mainBusinessProcessVariantType; and ActivityParty, on the Party node, with atarget cardinality of CN, which represents a Party in the activity.

The following specialization associations for navigation may exist tothe node Business Transaction Document Reference:ActivityBusinessTransactionDocumentReference, with a target cardinalityof CN, which provides a reference to the business objectsAppointmentActivity, EmailActivity, LetterActivity, FaxActivity andPhoneCallActivity that are linked to an activity;CampaignBusinessTransactionDocumentReference, with a target cardinalityof C, which provides a reference to the business object Campaign; andOtherBusinessTransactionDocumentReference, with a target cardinality ofCN; which provides a reference to other business objects that are linkedto an activity, such as CustomerQuote, Opportunity, SalesOrder,ServiceOrder, SalesContract, PurchaseOrder, OutboundDelivery andCustomerinvoice.

The following specialization associations for navigation may exist tothe node Location: Main Location, with a target cardinality of C, whichis a main location in a location specialization, and which may belocated at the BusinessTransactionDocumentReference node. The followingspecialization associations for navigation may exist to the node Party:Activity Party, with a target cardinality of CN; Other Party, with atarget cardinality of CN; Activity Unit Party, with a target cardinalityof C; Attendee Party, with a target cardinality of CN, which is a partyin the MessageTo Party specialization; MessageFromParty, with a targetcardinality of C; Employee Responsible Party, with a target cardinalityof C; Main Activity Party, with a target cardinality of C, which is aparty in the MainActivity Party specialization; AttendeeParty, with atarget cardinality of CN; Main Attendee Party, with a target cardinalityof C, which is a main party in the Attendee Party specialization;ProcessorParty, with a target cardinality of C; Main Reference Party,with a target cardinality of C, which is a party in the MainReferenceParty specialization; ActivityUnitParty, with a target cardinality of C;Organizer Party, with a target cardinality of C; and Reference Party,with a target cardinality of CN.

The following specialization associations for navigation may exist:Scheduled Period, to the node Period, with a target cardinality of C;Activity Body Text Collection Text, to the node Text, with a targetcardinality of C; and Business Document Flow, to the business objectBusiness Document Flow/node Business Document Flow, with a targetcardinality of C, which specifies an association relationship tobusiness objects that use an Activity in a business process.

In some implementations, the ID is not changed once it has been created.In some implementations, the TypeCode is determined by the system andcannot be set using an interface. In some implementations, theProcessingTypeCode is not changed once it has been created. In someimplementations, the SystemAdministrativeData is set internally by thesystem and such data is not assigned or changed externally. In someimplementations, the composition's property for Overview nodeEnabled-Attribute_value is set to False and Enabled-Final is set toTrue.

A RequestToSendCalendarEvent action can be used to send a request to agroupware system to send a calendar event meeting request to attendeesin a calendar event. In some implementations, theRequestToSendCalendarEvent is enabled if Activity Management withGroupware Integration is active. ARequestToSendCalendarEventCancellation action can be used to send arequest to groupware to send a calendar event cancellation request toattendees in a calendar event. In some implementations, theRequestToSendCalendarEventCancellation action is enabled only ifActivity Management with Groupware Integration is active.

An Add Reference with Data Provision action creates aBusinessTransactionDocumentReference in an Activity and provides theActivity with data from the referenced document. A new Activity can begenerated. The action elements are defined by the data typeActivityAddReferenceWithDataProvisionActionElements. These elementsinclude: BusinessTransactionDocumentKey, which may includeBusinessTransactionDocumentKey/BusinessTransactionDocumentID andBusinessTransactionDocumentKey/BusinessTransactionDocumentTypeCode.BusinessTransactionDocumentKey may be optional and may be based ondatatype KDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentKey.BusinessTransactionDocumentKey/BusinessTransactionDocumentID may beoptional, is a unique identifier for a business transaction document,and may be based on datatype GDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentID.BusinessTransactionDocumentKey/BusinessTransactionDocumentTypeCode maybe optional, is a coded representation of a document type that occurs inbusiness transactions. The document type describes the business natureof similar documents and defines the basic features of such a type ofdocuments. BusinessTransactionDocumentTypeCode may be based on datatypeGDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentTypeCode.

An Add Visit Report action can be used to add a visit report to anActivity. An interactive form “Visit Report” can be used by sales andservice representatives for the reporting of business activities such ascustomer visits or ongoing opportunities. The Add Visit Report actioncreates an interactive form and adds the form to an attachment folder ofthe activity.

A Cancel action can be used to cancel an activity. A Complete actioncloses the processing of an Activity. A Copy action can be used tocreate an Activity from an existing Activity, from which relevant datais transferred. The two Activities might not be linked in a businesssense. A Create From Business Partner action creates an activity with aprovided Business Partner as a main Activity Party. A Create FromBusiness Partner Contact action creates an activity with a providedBusiness Partner Contact and a Business Partner derived from theBusiness Partner Contact. A Create with Reference action creates anactivity with reference to an existing document, from which relevantdata is transferred. A Process action sets the LifeCycleStatus to “InProcess”. The Activity can be processed after execution of the Processaction. A Reopen action sets the LifeCycleStatus of an Activity back toan initial status.

A Destroy action can be used to destroy an object in accordance with thespecified data retention rules. Destruction of data can imply eitherphysical deletion or anonymization. The Destroy action can be usable forInformation Lifecycle Management. The object does not necessarilyperform all business logic checks.

A Select All query provides the NodeIDs of all instances of the rootnode and can be used to enable an initial load of data for a Fast SearchInfrastructure. A Query By Elements query returns a list of Activitiesthat are found for an object type, transaction type, name, priority,InitiatorCode, short name of a sender, level of confidentiality, group,origin type of the data, status, person responsible, ActivityParty,location, and postal code. The query elements are defined by the inlinestructure APP_S_ACTV_EL_QRY_EL.

These elements include: ID, SystemAdministrativeData,CreationBusinessPartnerCommonPersonNameGivenName,CreationBusinessPartner_CommonPersonNameFamilyName,LastChangeBusinessPartner_CommonPersonNameGivenName,LastChangeBusinessPartnerCommonPersonNameFamilyName, ProcessingTypeCode,Name, PriorityCode, InitiatorCode, MessageFromName,InformationSensitivityCode, GroupCode, DataOriginTypeCode,ReportedDateTime, Status, PartyRoleCode, PartyPartyKey, PartyName,PartyAdditionalName, PartyAdditional, PartySortingFormattedName,PartyActivityPartyCityName, PartyActivityPartyPostalCode,PartyActivityPartyKey, PartyActivityPartyContactPartyKey,PartyEmployeeResponsiblePartyKey, PartyContactPartyKey,BusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceBusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceID,BusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceBusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceTypeCode,SearchText, AttachmentSearchText, InitiatingActivityUUID, andPredecessorActivityUUID. ID may be based on datatype GDT:BusinessTransactionDocumentID.

SystemAdministrativeData may be based on datatype GDT:SystemAdministrativeData.CreationBusinessPartnerCommon_PersonNameGivenName is a first name of aperson who has created an Activity, and may be based on datatype GDT:MEDIUM_Name. CreationBusinessPartner_CommonPersonNameFamilyName is alast name of a person who has created an Activity, and may be based ondatatype GDT: MEDIUM_Name.LastChangeBusinessPartner_CommonPersonNameGivenName is a first name of aperson who has changed an Activity, and may be based on datatype GDT:MEDIUM_Name. LastChangeBusinessPartner_CommonPersonNameFamilyName is alast name of a person who has changed an Activity, and may be based ondatatype GDT: MEDIUM_Name. ProcessingTypeCode may be based on datatypeGDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentProcessingTypeCode. Name may be based ondatatype GDT: EXTENDED_Name. PriorityCode may be based on datatype GDT:PriorityCode. InitiatorCode may be based on datatype GDT:ActivityInitiatorCode. MessageFromName may be based on datatype GDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_MEDIUM_Name. InformationSensitivityCode may be basedon datatype GDT: InformationSensitivityCode. GroupCode may be based ondatatype GDT: ActivityGroupCode. DataOriginTypeCode may be based ondatatype GDT: ActivityDataOriginTypeCode.

ReportedDateTime is a time point at which an activity is reported, andmay be based on datatype GDT: GLOBAL_DateTime, with a qualifier ofReported. Status includes the LifeCycleStatus and TransmissionStatus ofan Activity, and may be based on datatype BOIDT: ActivityStatus. Statuscan include Status/LifeCycleStatusCode, which represents the life cycleof an activity and may be based on datatype GDT:ActivityLifeCycleStatusCode. PartyRoleCode is a role of a party thatoccurs in an Activity, and may be based on datatype GDT: PartyRoleCode.PartyPartyKey is an identification of a party that occurs in anActivity, and may be based on datatype KDT: PartyKey. Party can includePartyPartyKey/PartyID, which is an identifier for a party, and may bebased on datatype GDT: PartyID.

PartyName is a name of a party that occurs in an Activity, (e.g., aFamilyName of a business partner, such asBusinessPartnerCommonPersonNameFamilyName), and may be based on datatypeGDT: LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_LONG_Name. PartyAdditionalName is an additionalname of a party that occurs in an activity (e.g., a given name of abusiness partner, such as BusinessPartnerCommonPersonNameGivenName), andmay be based on datatype GDT: LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_MEDIUM_Name, with aqualifier of PartyAdditional. PartySortingFormattedName is a sortingformatted name of a party that occurs in an activity, (e.g.,SortingFormattedName of a business partner, such asBusinessPartnerCommonSortingFormattedName), and may be based on datatypeGDT: LONG_Name. PartyActivityPartyCityName can be determined using theaddress of a business partner that occurs in an ActivityPartyspecialization, and may be based on datatype GDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_MEDIUM_Name, with a qualifier of City.PartyActivityPartyPostalCode can be determined from the address of abusiness partner that occurs in an ActivityParty specialization in anActivity, and may be based on datatype GDT: PostalCode.

PartyActivityPartyKey may be based on datatype KDT: PartyKey.PartyActivityPartyKey may include PartyActivityPartyKey/PartyID, whichis an identifier for a party and may be based on datatype GDT: PartyID.PartyActivityPartyContactPartyKey may be based on datatype KDT:PartyKey. PartyActivityPartyContactPartyKey may includePartyActivityPartyContactPartyKey/PartyID, which is an identifier for aparty and may be based on datatype GDT: PartyID.PartyEmployeeResponsiblePartyKey may be based on datatype KDT: PartyKey.PartyEmployeeResponsiblePartyKey may includePartyEmployeeResponsiblePartyKey/PartyID, which is an identifier for aparty and may be based on datatype GDT: PartyID. PartyContactPartyKeymay be based on datatype KDT: PartyKey. PartyContactPartyKey may includePartyContactPartyKey/PartyID, which is an identifier for a party and maybe based on datatype GDT: PartyID.

BusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceBusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceIDis an identifier of a referenced business transaction document, and maybe based on datatype GDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentID.

BusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceBusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceTypeCodeis a type of a referenced business transaction document, and may bebased on datatype GDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentTypeCode. SearchTextincludes free text including one or several word terms used to searchfor Activities, and may be based on datatype GDT: SearchText. Thedifferent terms of the search text can be matched against a subset ofthe query parameters and the Activities instances can be returned as ifall the terms were specified in each query parameter.AttachmentSearchText is text that is searched for within binary contentof a particular Attachment for Activities, and may be based on datatypeGDT: AttachmentSearchText. “Text” can refer to any limited characterstring and can also include special characters (e.g., *, ′, ″), tocontrol the search. InitiatingActivityUUID may be based on datatype GDT:UUID. PredecessorActivityUUID may be based on datatype GDT: UUID.

Business Transaction Document Reference is a unique reference between anactivity_template and another business transaction document or businesstransaction document item. The elements located directly at the nodeBusiness Transaction Document Reference are defined by the inlinestructure APP_S_ACTV_BTDR_EL. These elements include:BusinessTransactionDocumentReference,BusinessTransactionDocumentRelationshipRoleCode, andDataProviderIndicator.

BusinessTransactionDocumentReference includes a unique reference to abusiness document or to an item in a business document, and may be basedon datatype GDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentReference.BusinessTransactionDocumentRelationshipRoleCode may be optional,indicates a role that an Activity adopts within a relationship toanother business document or business document item, and may be based ondatatype GDT: BusinessTransactionDocumentRelationshipRoleCode.DataProviderIndicator may be optional, is an indicator that specifieswhether an Activity stores additional data in a relationship to abusiness document, and may be based on datatype GDT: Indicator, with aqualifier of DataProvider.

The following composition relationships to subordinate nodes exist:BusinessTransaction DocumentReferenceActualValues, with a cardinality of1:C. The following inbound association relationships may exist:ActivityTask, from the business object Activity Task/node Activity Task,with a cardinality of C:CN, which represents when an Activity referencesan ActivityTask; AppointmentActivity, from the business objectAppointment Activity/node Appointment Activity, with a cardinality ofC:CN, which represents when an Activity references anAppointmentActivity; Customerinvoice, from the business object CustomerInvoice/node Customer Invoice, with a cardinality of C:CN, whichrepresents when an Activity references a Customerinvoice; CustomerQuote, from the business object Customer Quote/node Customer Quote, witha cardinality of C:CN, which represents when an Activity references aCustomerQuote; EmailActivity, from the business object EmailActivity/node Email Activity, with a cardinality of C:CN, whichrepresents when an Activity references an EmailActivity; FaxActivity,from the business object Fax Activity/node Fax Activity, with acardinality of C:CN, which represents when an Activity references aFaxActivity; LetterActivity, from the business object LetterActivity/node Letter Activity, with a cardinality of C:CN, whichrepresents when an Activity references a LetterActivity; Opportunity,from the business object Opportunity/node Opportunity, with acardinality of C:CN, which represents when an Activity references anOpportunity; PhoneCallActivity, from the business object Phone CallActivity/node Phone Call Activity, with a cardinality of C:CN, whichrepresents when an Activity references a PhoneCallActivity;PurchaseOrder, from the business object Purchase Order/node PurchaseOrder, with a cardinality of C:CN, which represents when an Activityreferences a PurchaseOrder; SalesOrder, from the business object SalesOrder/node Sales Order, with a cardinality of C:CN, which representswhen an Activity references a SalesOrder; and ServiceOrder, from thebusiness object Service Order/node Service Order, with a cardinality ofC:CN, which represents when an Activity references a ServiceOrder. Thefollowing specialization associations for navigation may exist to thenode Appointment Activity: Parent, with a target cardinality of 1; andRoot, with a target cardinality of 1.

Business Transaction Document Reference Actual Values are actual valuesof a unique reference between Activities and another businesstransaction document or business transaction document item. The elementslocated directly at the node Business Transaction Document ReferenceActual Values are defined by the inline structureAPP_S_ACTV_BTDR_ACT_VALUES_EL. These elements includeMarketingActivityID, which is a unique identifier of a MarketingActivity, and may be based on datatype GDT: MarketingActivityID. Thefollowing specialization associations for navigation may exist: Root, tothe node Appointment Activity, with a target cardinality of 1; andParent, to the node Business Transaction Document Reference, with atarget cardinality of 1.

Business Process Variant Type is a representation of a typical way ofprocessing an activity_template within a process component, from abusiness point of view. The elements located directly at the nodeBusiness Process Variant Type are defined by the inline structureAPP_S_ACTV_BPV_EL. These elements include BusinessProcessVariantTypeCodeand MainIndicator. BusinessProcessVariantTypeCode is a codedrepresentation of a business process variant of an Activity, and may bebased on datatype GDT: BusinessProcessVariantTypeCode. MainIndicatorspecifies whether a current BusinessProcessVariantTypeCode is a mainvariant, and may be based on datatype GDT: Indicator, with a qualifierof Main. The following specialization associations for navigation mayexist to the node Appointment Activity: Parent, with a targetcardinality of 1; and Root, with a target cardinality of 1. In someimplementations, only one instance of the BusinessProcessVariantType maybe flagged as a main BusinessProcessVariantType.

Location represents a physical or logical location that is used in anactivity template in a location role. The elements located directly atthe node Location are defined by the inline structure APP_S_ACTV_LOC_EL.These elements include: LocationID, LocationUUID, AddressReference,RoleCode, RoleCategoryCode, DeterminationMethodCode, and Name.AddressReference can include AddressReference/AddressHostUUID,

AddressReference/AddressHostTypeCode,AddressReference/BusinessObjectTypeCode,AddressReference/InstalledBaseID, AddressReference/InstallationPointID,and AddressReference/PartyKey. AddressReference/PartyKey can includeAddressReference/PartyKey/PartyTypeCode andAddressReference/PartyKey/PartyID. LocationID is a unique identifier fora location, and may be based on datatype GDT: LocationID. LocationUUIDis a universally unique identifier for a location, and may be based ondatatype GDT: UUID. AddressReference is a unique reference to an addressof a party, and may be based on datatype BOIDT:ObjectNodeLocationAddressReference. AddressReference/AddressHostUUID isa universally unique identifier for an address of a business partner, anorganizational unit or associated specializations, the business objectInstalledBase, or the business object InstallationPoint. AddressHostUUIDmay be may be based on datatype GDT: UUID.AddressReference/AddressHostTypeCode may be optional, is a codedrepresentation of an address host type of an address referenced by theAddressUUID or an address included using the Location Addresscomposition, and may be based on datatype GDT: AddressHostTypeCode.

AddressReference/BusinessObjectTypeCode may be optional, is a codedrepresentation of a type of the business object in which an addressreferenced in the LocationAddressUUID is integrated as a dependentobject, and may be based on datatype GDT: BusinessObjectTypeCode.AddressReference/InstalledBaseID is an identifier for an installed basethat references an address using an AddressUUID, and may be based ondatatype GDT: InstalledBaseID. AddressReference/InstallationPointID isan identifier for an installation point that references an address usingan AddressUUID, and may be based on datatype GDT: InstallationPointID.AddressReference/PartyKey is an alternative identifier of a party thatrepresents a business partner or an organizational unit that referencesan address using an AddressUUID, and may be based on datatype KDT:PartyKey. AddressReference/PartyKey/PartyTypeCode is a codedrepresentation of a type of party, and may be based on datatype GDT:BusinessObjectTypeCode. AddressReference/PartyKey/PartyID is anidentifier for a party, and may be based on datatype GDT: PartyID.RoleCode may be optional, is a role of a location, and may be based ondatatype GDT: LocationRoleCode. RoleCategoryCode may be optional, is acategory of a Location, and may be based on datatype GDT:LocationRoleCategoryCode. DeterminationMethodCode may be optional, is acoded representation of a location determination method, and may bebased on datatype GDT: LocationDeterminationMethodCode. Name is adescription for a location, and may be based on datatype GDT: LONG_Name.

The following inbound aggregation relationship may exist: AddressSnapshot, from the business object Address Snapshot/node Root, with acardinality of C:CN; Location, from the business object Location/nodeLocation, with a cardinality of C:CN, which is a location that isinvolved in an Activity. The following specialization associations fornavigation may exist: Parent, to the node Appointment Activity, with atarget cardinality of 1; Root, to the node Appointment Activity, with atarget cardinality of 1; and Used Address, to the business object UsedAddress/node Used Address, with a target cardinality of C, which is anaddress of a Party that is involved in an Activity.

Party is a natural or legal person, an organization, an organizationalunit, or a group that is involved in an activity_template in a partyrole. The elements located directly at the node Party are defined by thedata type ActivityPartyElements. These elements include: PartyKey,PartyUUID, RoleCategoryCode, RoleCode, AddressReference,DeterminationMethodCode, MainIndicator, and Name. PartyKey is anidentifier of a party within a business document or master data object,and may be based on datatype KDT: PartyKey. PartyKey can includePartyKey/PartyTypeCode, which is coded representation of a type of partyand may be based on datatype GDT: BusinessObjectTypeCode. PartyKey caninclude PartyKey/PartyID, which is an identifier for a party and may bebased on datatype GDT: PartyID. PartyUUID is a unique identifier for abusiness partner, an organizational unit, or associated specializations,and may be based on datatype GDT: UUID. RoleCategoryCode may beoptional, is a category of a PartyRole in a business document, and maybe based on datatype GDT: PartyRoleCategoryCode. RoleCode may beoptional, is a role of a party in a business document, and may be basedon datatype GDT: PartyRoleCode. AddressReference is a unique referenceto an address of a party, and may be based on datatype GDT:PartyAddressReference. DeterminationMethodCode may be optional, is acoded representation of a party determination method, and may be basedon datatype GDT: PartyDeterminationMethodCode. MainIndicator may beoptional, indicates whether a party is emphasized in a group of partieswith a same PartyRole, and may be based on datatype GDT: Indicator, witha qualifier of Main. Name may be optional, is a description for a party,and may be based on datatype GDT: LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_LONG_Name.

The following composition relationships to subordinate nodes exist:PartyContactParty, with a cardinality of 1:CN. The following inboundaggregation relationships may exist: Address Snapshot, from the businessobject Address Snapshot/node Root, with a cardinality of C:CN; andParty, from the business object Party/node Party, with a cardinality ofC:CN, which is a party that is involved in an Activity. The followingspecialization associations for navigation may exist: Address SnapshotOverview, to the business object Address Snapshot/node Overview, with atarget cardinality of C; Parent, to the node Appointment Activity, witha target cardinality of 1; Root, with a target cardinality of 1; MainParty Contact Party, to the node Party Contact Party, with a targetcardinality of C; and Used Address, to the business object UsedAddress/node Used Address, with a target cardinality of C, which is anaddress of a Party that is involved in an Activity.

In some implementations, there is one aggregation relationship to abusiness partner, an organizational unit, or to an associatedspecialization. In some implementations, if the PartyUUID exists, thePartyTypeCode also exists. In some implementations, only one associationexists for an address. Such an address can be a master data address of abusiness partner, organizational unit, or associated specializationreferenced by PartyUUID. A Destroy action can be used to destroy anobject in accordance with the specified data retention rules.Destruction of data can imply either physical deletion or anonymization.The Destroy action can be usable for Information Lifecycle Management.The object does not necessarily perform all business logic checks.

Party Contact Party is a natural person or organizational unit that canbe contacted for an activity_template party. The contact can be acontact person or a secretariat, for example. Communication data can beavailable for the contact. The elements located directly at the nodeParty Contact Party are defined by the inline structureAPP_S_ACTV_PTY_CONTACT_PTY_EL. These elements include: PartyKey,PartyUUID, AddressReference, DeterminationMethodCode, MainIndicator, andName. PartyKey is an identifier of a contact within a business documentor master data object, and may be based on datatype KDT: PartyKey.PartyKey can include PartyKey/PartyTypeCode, which is a codedrepresentation of a type of party and may be based on datatype GDT:BusinessObjectTypeCode. PartyKey can include PartyKey/PartyID, which isan identifier for a party and may be based on datatype GDT: PartyID.PartyUUID is a unique identifier for a business partner, anorganizational unit, or an associated specialization, and may be basedon datatype GDT: UUID. AddressReference is a unique reference to anaddress of a contact, and may be based on datatype GDT:PartyAddressReference. DeterminationMethodCode may be optional, is acoded representation of a party determination method, and may be basedon datatype GDT: PartyDeterminationMethodCode. MainIndicator may beoptional, indicates whether a contact is emphasized in a group ofcontacts, and may be based on datatype GDT: Indicator, with a qualifierof Main. Name may be optional, is a description for a contact, and maybe based on datatype GDT: LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_LONG_Name.

The following inbound aggregation relationships may exist: AddressSnapshot, from the business object Address Snapshot/node Root, with acardinality of C:CN; and Party, from the business object Party/nodeParty, with a cardinality of C:CN, which is a Party that is involved inan Activity. The following specialization associations for navigationmay exist: Address Snapshot Overview, to the business object AddressSnapshot/node Overview, with a target cardinality of C; Root, to thenode Appointment Activity, with a target cardinality of 1; Parent, tothe node Party, with a target cardinality of 1; and Used Address, to thebusiness object Used Address/node Used Address, with a targetcardinality of C, which is an address of a Party that is involved in anActivity. In some implementations, one association exists for anaddress. Such an address can be a master data address of a businesspartner, organizational unit, or associated specialization referenced byPartyUUID. A Destroy action can be used to destroy an object inaccordance with the specified data retention rules. Destruction of datacan imply either physical deletion or anonymization. The Destroy actioncan be usable for Information Lifecycle Management. The object does notnecessarily perform all business logic checks.

Period is a unit of time in which an activity or a similar objectderived from an activity_template is performed. The elements locateddirectly at the node Period are defined by the inline structureAPP_S_ACTV_PERIOD_EL. These elements include: PeriodRoleCode,TimePointPeriod, StartTimePointDateCalculationFunctionReference,EndTimePointDateCalculationFunctionReference, and FullDayIndicator.PeriodRoleCode is a role of a specified period, and may be based ondatatype GDT: PeriodRoleCode. TimePointPeriod is a specified period. Thebusiness role of the period can be specified by the PeriodRoleCode.TimePointPeriod may be based on datatype GDT: TimePointPeriod.StartTimePointDateCalculationFunctionReference is a reference to afunction with which a start time point of a period is calculated, andmay be based on datatype GDT: DateCalculationFunctionReference.EndTimePointDateCalculationFunctionReference is a reference to afunction with which an end time point of a period is calculated, and maybe based on datatype GDT: DateCalculationFunctionReference.FullDayIndicator may be optional, specifies whether a time point coversa full day, and may be based on datatype GDT: Indicator, with aqualifier of FullDay. The following specialization associations fornavigation may exist to the node Appointment Activity: Parent, with atarget cardinality of 1; and Root, with a target cardinality of 1.

An inbound service ManageAppointmentActivityIn can be used to manageappointment activities, can have a process component name ofActivityManagement, and can have a web service type that is inbound andstateless. A deployment unit Foundation can be associated with theManageAppointmentActivityIn inbound service. The inbound serviceManageAppointmentActivityIn can be associated with a ManageAppointmentActivity In Maintain as Bundle operation and a ManageAppointment Activity In Check Maintain as Bundle operation.

The inbound service ManageAppointmentActivityIn can be an interface usedto migrate appointment activity data from a source system or a file. Theinbound service ManageAppointmentActivityIn can be a web serviceinterface and can enable connecting external applications to a systemand creating and editing appointment activities within the system. Theweb service interface Manage Appointment Activity In can be relevant toa company that wants to access and manage appointment activity data fromexternal applications. The web service interface Manage AppointmentActivity In can provide operations MaintainBundle andCheckMaintainBundle. An example web service request forManageAppointmentActivityIn is shown below:

<n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_syncxmlns:n0=″exampleNamespace”> <BasicMessageHeader><ID>00000000000102dcade9bcb0aa000c68</ID> </BasicMessageHeader><AppointmentActivity actionCode=″01″> <Name>Meeting Preparation</Name><PriorityCode>1</PriorityCode><InformationSensitivityCode>1</InformationSensitivityCode><StartDateTimetimeZoneCode=″CET″>2012-06-28T12:00:00.0000000Z</StartDateTime><EndDateTimetimeZoneCode=″CET″>2012-06-30T12:00:00.0000000Z</EndDateTime> <TextactionCode=″01″> <TextTypeCode>10002</TextTypeCode> <ContentText>MeetingPreparation for a new customer</ContentText><CreationDateTime>2006-03-28T12:00:00.1234567Z</CreationDateTime></Text> <OrganizerParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MC2471</BusinessPartnerInternalID></OrganizerParty> <EmployeeResponsibleParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MC2471</BusinessPartnerInternalID></EmployeeResponsibleParty> <MainActivityParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MC9785</BusinessPartnerInternalID></MainActivityParty> </AppointmentActivity></n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_sync>

Prerequisites of the inbound service ManageAppointmentActivityIn caninclude existence of referenced master data or business documents, suchas Employee, Customer, (e.g., used to name a Processor or EmployeeResponsible for related customers), Campaigns, or other businessdocuments.

The Maintain Bundle operation can enable external applications to createand change business document data. The Check Maintain Bundle operationcan enable external applications to simulate maintain bundle requestswithout changing business document data. The Check Maintain Bundleoperation can return system messages similar to corresponding maintainbundle operations and provide a same message type as a correspondingoperation Maintain Bundle. In some implementations, the Check MaintainBundle operation does not assign internal numbers from a productivenumber range interval (e.g., number range statuses might not beincreased). In some implementations, the Check Maintain Bundle operationdoes not change any business documents.

One or more action codes can be used with the inbound serviceManageAppointmentActivityIn. An action code can represent an instructionto a recipient of a web service request to process transmitted messagenode elements. An action code of “01” can represent a creation. An errormessage can be returned if the node element to create already exists. Anaction code of “02” can represent an update. An error message can bereturned if the node element to update does not exist. An action code of“03” can represent a deletion. An error message can be returned if thenode element to delete does not exist. An action code of “04” canrepresent a save. During a save, node element data can be created orchanged. An action code of “05” can represent a removal. A node elementcan be deleted. In some implementations, if the node element to beremoved does not exist, an error message is not sent. An action code of“06” can represent “no action”. A corresponding node element is notchanged if such an action code is indicated. In some implementations, adefault action code is “04” (save). In some implementations, if actioncode “04” (save) is specified, the system creates business documents ifthe system is not able to identify a matching target business document.For example, one or more business documents can be created if nobusiness document ID or UUID is provided by a web service consumer. Theweb service consumer (e.g., external application) can be responsible forproviding correct business document IDs or UUIDs in order to avoidaccidental creation of duplicate business documents.

List processing can be performed in association with the inbound serviceManageAppointmentActivityIn. For example, node elements withcardinality >1 can be processed (e.g., a list of descriptions indifferent languages, a list of telephone numbers). List processing canbe controlled using List Complete Transmission Indicators (LCTI). A LCTIcan indicate whether a list of node elements is transmitted completely.The LCTI of a node element with cardinality >1 can be modeled as anattribute of an associated parent node element. For example, anattribute can be represented using the following notation: attributename: <name of child element>ListCompleteTransmissionIndicator.

In some implementations, a LCTI with a value of “false” can be used.Such a LCTI can indicate that a corresponding list of node elements hasnot been completely transmitted. Accordingly, all node elements that arenot transmitted may be unchanged. If transmitted node elements in thelist can be uniquely identified, the system can process the nodeelements according to an action code. If transmitted node elements inthe list cannot be uniquely identified, the system can append the nodeelement to a corresponding list of node elements in a target businessdocument. In some implementations, a LCTI with a value of “true” can beused, which can indicate that the list of elements has been completelytransmitted. Accordingly, all node elements that are not transmitted canbe removed. If no node element is transmitted, a complete list can beremoved. In some implementations, a default LCTI has a value of “false”.An LCTI can refer to the completeness of a list of node elements and maynot imply completeness of sub-elements.

In some implementations, optional leaf elements in request messages thatare not transmitted within a web service request are not changed incorresponding business documents. For example, when updating anappointment activity, a request can update a name. The priority code canremain unchanged, such as if an element “PriorityCode” is not includedin an associated XML document (e.g., in the example below, thePriorityCode element is commented out):

<AppointmentActivity actionCode=″02″> <Name>Meeting Preparation</Name><!-- <PriorityCode>1</PriorityCode> --><InformationSensitivityCode></InformationSensitivityCode></AppointmentActivity>

In some implementations, an empty element can cause an error conditionto occur. As another example, in the example code above, the request canbe sent as an attempt to delete or update information associated with asensitivity code with an initial value. In some implementations, anerror message can result since an initial value might not be allowed forthe information sensitivity code.

The Maintain Bundle and Check Maintain Bundle operations can bemass-enabled stateless synchronous web service operations. With suchoperations, transferring or requesting amounts of large data can causecommunication timeouts. In some implementations, the web serviceconsumer is responsible for ensuring reasonable sizes of data for massoperations. For example, in some implementations, a reasonable size ofdata is in the order of magnitude of one hundred kilobytes. Larger orsmaller data sizes can be used.

In some implementations, the Maintain Bundle and Check Maintain Bundleoperations support exactly one execution. In such implementations, toensure exactly one execution of web service requests, the web serviceconsumer can provide unique values for the elements ID or UUID of aBasicMessageHeader node element.

In some implementations, a change state identifier (e.g., element nameChangeStateID) can be used by external applications to enforce that amodifying operation is not executed if the state of a business documenthas changed since the external application last read data of thebusiness document. For example, the change state ID can be anuninterpretable string that is provided by query and read operations andcan be utilized by modifying operations.

In some implementations, if the change state identifier is provided whencalling a modifying operation, the system does not perform the operationif the state of the business document instance has changed since thechange state ID was computed. In some implementations, if the changestate ID is not provided by the web service consumer, the systemperforms the web service operation without checking the state of thebusiness document. In some implementations, the web service consumer(e.g., external application) is responsible for preventing accidentalchanges to business documents. In some implementations, for the webservice ManageAppointmentActivityIn, the change state ID does not applyto the ContactPerson, Relationship, CommunicationArrangement,DirectResponsibility, SalesArrangement, or PaymentData node elements.

In some implementations, request node elements with cardinality >1include an object node sender technical identifier to relate responsemessage elements and log items to corresponding node elements in therequest message. The object node sender technical identifiers can beprovided as ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID in request message types and canbe referred to as ReferenceObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID in correspondingresponse message types. If the object node sender technical ID isinitial, the object node sender technical ID of the parent node elementin the request can be returned as a reference object node sendertechnical ID. If the object node sender technical IDs of all parent nodeelements are initial, the reference object node sender technical ID canalso be returned as initial. Values specified in theObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID can be transient values that establish acorrespondence between elements for a single call. In someimplementations, the web service consumer is not required to specifyvalues in the ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID. In some implementations, theservice provider does not interpret the values in theObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID. The service provider can return values inthe ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID to the web service consumer in one ormore ReferenceObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID elements.ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID can be used to identify failed businessdocument modifications in a mass operation.

Below is an example using ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID, where the Childelements correspond to a request and the Log element corresponds to aresponse, with the ReferenceObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID in the Logelement including a value corresponding to a Child item in the requestwhich includes some erroneous content. The Log item includes acorresponding error message.

<Child> <ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID>999_A<ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID><Content>Child A: Some correct content</Content> </Child> <Child><ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID>999_B<ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID><Content>Child B: Some erroneous content</Content> </Child> <Log> <Item><ReferenceObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID>999_B</ReferenceObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID> <Note>Error message for ChildB</Note> </Item> </Log>

The structure of a response message can include two parts: 1) a businessdocument-specific part including information about IDs and UUIDs ofcreated and changed business documents; and 2) Log items includingsystem messages, including errors, warnings, and information messagesraised by the system during processing of the web service request.

In some implementations, external applications consuming web servicescan have special requirements and restrictions regarding the format ofWSDL (Web Services Definition Language) definitions. In someimplementations, some external applications can use service definitionWSDL definitions describing a web service signature. Such a definitioncan be sufficient for the creation of static client-side proxies. Insome implementations, other external applications, such as applicationsthat do not create static client-side proxies, may use binding WSDLdefinitions including an endpoint definition and authentication policyinformation. In some implementations, external applications may imposespecial restrictions on the structure or the size of WSDL definitions.For example, a first system may use binding WSDL definitions and mayconsider elements with the attribute/value pair “minOccurs=0” as“mandatory”. However, a second system may consider the attribute/valuepair “minOccurs=0” as “optional”. In order to handle such differinginterpretations, a WSDL definition can be saved locally and anadditional attribute/value pair, such as “nillable=true”, can be addedto make a query parameter optional for the first system.

For small clients (e.g., mobile devices), the size of a WSDL may becomea problem (e.g., due to the complexity of the WSDL definition, e.g., asmall client may experience long runtimes during serialization of arequest or deserialization of a response. For many requests andresponses, the client only uses a very small part of the signature of aWSDL definition. To address the long runtime issues, a WSDL definitioncan be saved locally and the optional parts of the signature can beremoved before the WSDL is imported or static client-side proxies aregenerated.

External applications can take into account that web service request andresponse message types can be enhanced with additional elements andattributes. Enhancements can be created by an enterprise systemmanufacturer, by partners of the enterprise system manufacturer, or byadministrators, to name a few examples. Enhancements of request messagetypes can be optional elements or attributes. The enterprise system mayor may not require the external application to provide values in therequest. Enhancements of response message types can include mandatoryelements or attributes. The external application can be configured toprocess extended responses. Standard XML element and attribute names aregenerally stable. Technical definitions of data types can be enhanced ina compatible manner. Such enhancements may result in changed data typenames. External applications can rely on standard XML element names andattribute names, but in some implementations generally do not rely onconsistency of enhanced data type names.

Possible scenarios related to the ManageAppointmentActivityIn serviceinclude a Create Appointment scenario and an Update Appointmentscenario. The MaintainBundle operation can be used to create anappointment. The MaintainBundle operation can be used to update anexisting appointment. Below is an example web service request to createan appointment activity. The action code of “01” indicates a creation.As a request response, the ID of the created Appointment Activity can bereturned.

<n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_syncxmlns:n0=″exampleNamespace”> <BasicMessageHeader><ID>00000000000102dcade9bcb0aa000c68</ID> </BasicMessageHeader><AppointmentActivity actionCode=″01″> <ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID>Token14<ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID> <Name>Preparation of CustomerPresentation</Name> <PriorityCode>1</PriorityCode><InformationSensitivityCode>1</InformationSensitivityCode><CompletionPercent>29</CompletionPercent> <StartDateTimetimeZoneCode=″CET″>2012-06-28T12:00:00.1234567Z<StartDateTime><EndDateTimetimeZoneCode=″CET″>2012-06-28T13:00:00.1234567Z<EndDateTime><OrganizerParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MC2471</BusinessPartnerInternalID></OrganizerParty> <EmployeeResponsibleParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MC2471</BusinessPartnerInternalID></EmployeeResponsibleParty> <MainActivityParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MC9785</BusinessPartnerInternalID></MainActivityParty> </AppointmentActivity></n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_sync>

Below is an example of a web service request to update the name of anappointment activity. An action code value of “02” indicates an update.

<n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_sync xmlns:n0=″exampleNamespace”> <BasicMessageHeader><ID>00000000000102dcade9bcb0aa000c99</ID> </BasicMessageHeader><AppointmentActivity actionCode=″02″> <ID>692</ID> <Name>Preparation ofCustomer Call</Name> </AppointmentActivity></n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_sync>

In addition to updating an activity, a party that has 1:n cardinalitycan be updated. In some implementations, a party ID and party role arenot unique keys for a party instance. In such implementations, forparties with a 1:n cardinality, in case of updates (e.g., change,delete) a CompleteTransmissionIndicator can be set and a full list ofupdated parties that are to replace an existing list of parties can beprovided. For example, for a ReferenceParty, an existing list ofReferenceParty elements to be changed can include elements withidentifiers of MCP6049, MCPB9785, and MCPC9785. Desired updates caninclude, for example, deletion of party MCP6049, retaining partyMCPB9785, changing the identifier of party MCPC9785 to be MCP17101, andadding parties MCP17102 and MDECP9786.

Suppose for example, that no unique identification of a party instanceis possible via party ID and party role. In this example, areferencePartyListCompleteTransmission Indicator can be set to “true”.Accordingly, the list of parties is completely transmitted and allparties that are not transmitted are removed. If no party istransmitted, the complete list is removed. In the above example, a listthat includes parties MCPB9785, MCP17101, MCP17102, and MDECP9786 can beprovided.

A corresponding example XML document for such an example is below. Theparties to include in the list are enclosed in ReferenceParty elements.

<n0:AppointmentBundleMaintainRequest_sync xmlns:n0=″example Namespace”><BasicMessageHeader> <ID>00000000000102dcade9bcb0aa000c68</ID></BasicMessageHeader> <AppointmentActivity actionCode=″02″referencePartyListComplete Transmission Indicator=”true”> <ID>325</ID><ReferenceParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MCPB9785</BusinessPartnerIntemalID></ReferenceParty> <ReferenceParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MCP17101</BusinessPartnerInternalID></ReferenceParty> <ReferenceParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MCP17102</BusinessPartnerInternalID></ReferenceParty> <ReferenceParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MDECP9786</BusinessPartnerIntemalID></ReferenceParty> </AppointmentActivity></n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_sync>

As another example, a new party instance can be specified to be appendedto an existing list of parties by providing the new party and settingthe ListCompleteTransmission Indicator to “false”. For example, supposean existing list of parties includes parties MCP6049, MCPB9785, andMCPC9785. Suppose also that each party in the existing list of partiesis to be retained and that new parties MCP8300 and MCP60500 are to beadded. The ListCompleteTransmissionIndicator can be set to false and alist that includes just the parties to add can be provided. Acorresponding XML document which can be used to achieve the aboveexample is shown below. The two parties to add are enclosed inReferenceParty elements.

<n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_sync xmlns:n0=″exampleNamespace”> <BasicMessageHeader><ID>00000000000102dcade9bcb0aa000c68</ID> </BasicMessageHeader><AppointmentActivity actionCode=″02″ referencePartyListCompleteTransmission Indicator=”false”> <!-- append new party instances withLCTI = ″false″ --> <ID>325</ID> <ReferenceParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MCP8300</BusinessPartnerInternalID></ReferenceParty> <ReferenceParty><BusinessPartnerInternalID>MCP60500</BusinessPartnerInternalID></ReferenceParty> </AppointmentActivity></n0:AppointmentActivityBundleMaintainRequest_sync>

The inbound service ManageAppointmentActivityIn can be associated with aManage AppointmentActivity In Maintain as Bundle operation, which can besynchronous, can have a name of MaintainBundle, and which can be used tomaintain e-mail activities (e.g., to create, update, or deleteAppointment activities).

A request message of the operation MaintainBundle can include aBasicMessageHeader node element as well as an AppointmentActivity nodeelement that includes task data to be created or updated. The task nodecan occur multiple times in the request message. For example, multipleactivity tasks can be created and updated through a single web servicerequest. A response message type of the operation MaintainBundle caninclude log items, processing information, and anAppointmentActivity-specific node that includesReferenceObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID and ChangeStateID elements. Inaddition, AppointmentActivity, InternalID and Account UUID elements canalso be included.

The AppointmentActivity node element includes general task information,such as ID, UUID, names, and other forms of identification. The data forthe AppointmentActivity node can be related to general data associatedwith an Appointment Activity user interface. In some implementations,the user interface does not display the InternalID element. For example,the InternalID element can be generated in a backend system. The UUIDelement can be used to identify the Appointment Activity node element.The ID is a unique identifier for identifying an appointment. ID istypically not shown in the user interface, and can be automaticallygenerated by the system. The UUID is a unique identifier of anAppointment Activity which can be generated by a web service or can beprovided by a consumer.

MigratedDataAdaptationTypeCode is a coded representation of a migrateddata adaptation type. Adaptation types can include unchanged, changed,quantity, and items changed or omitted. Name is a subject of anAppointment Activity as it may be presented in the user interface.Priority Code specifies a priority of an Activity Task and can includeone of the following codes: immediate, urgent, normal, low. If notspecified by the consumer, a default priority code can be set by the webservice.

The Information Sensitivity Code specifies the sensitivity of anactivity task and can include values representing normal, personal,private, or confidential. If not specified by the consumer, a defaultinformation sensitivity code can be set by the web service. The GroupCode can be used to group activity task according to a certain aspect.The Group Code can be configured by the consumer. If not specified bythe consumer, a default group code can be set by the web service. TheData Origin Type Code specifies the origin of an activity task and caninclude values representing manual data entry, groupware, directmailing, or telephony. If not specified by the consumer, a default dataorigin type code can be set by the web service. The LifeCycleStatusCodeindicates a status of an activity task and can include values thatrepresent open, in-process, or completed. In some implementations, ifnot specified by the consumer, a default life cycle status code can beset by the web service.

The StartDateTime and EndDateTime can be used to specify a period inwhich an activity task is scheduled for processing. A timestamp for eachDateTime can be provided. Both dates can be set together. The Full DayIndicator can be set to indicate a full day appointment. If the Full Dayindicator is set, StartDateTime and EndDateTime can be configured torepresent a duration of 24 hours. For example, StartDateTime canindicate the beginning of a day.

Parties can be provided and identified in various ways. For example,BPInternalID, Name, EmployeeInternalID, and EmailURI can be used.BPInternalID is an internal identifier of a business partner.EmployeeInternalID is an internal employee identifier of the businesspartner. EmailURI is an EMailURI of a business. The EmailURI can beuniquely assigned to a business partner. If no party can be identifiedby a provided EmailURI, a party without an identifier can be createdwith an EmailURI stored in a document address. The Name is generally notused for identification, but can be stored in an address with a partythat is not identifiable by a given EmailURI.

The following types of parties can be used: Organizer Party, where anorganizer party is a party who created an appointment, such as byinviting attendees, and where the organizer party can be specifiedeither by a Business partner ID or an Employee ID; Attendee Party, wherean attendee party is a party who was invited to the appointment as aparticipant, and where the attendee party can be specified either by aBusiness partner ID or an Employee ID; Employee Responsible Party, wherean employee responsible party is an employee who is responsible for anactivity task, and where the employee responsibility party can bespecified either by a Business partner ID or an Employee ID; MainActivity Party, where a main activity party is a party involved in anactivity, and where the main activity party can be specified by aBusiness partner ID; Reference Party, where a reference party is a partyto which an activity task is related, and where the reference party canbe specified either by a Business partner ID or an Employee ID; andActivity Unit Party, where an activity unit party is an organizationalunit where the activity task is reported, and where the activity unitparty can be specified by an organizational center.

BusinessTransactionDocumentReference can be used to link an activitytask to other business documents such as an opportunity or campaign. ID,UUID, and TypeCode of a related business document can be provided aswell as a RefRoleCode specifying the type of relationship. RefRoleCodescan include Predecessor and Successor. The following XML is an exampleof linking an opportunity as a predecessor, where a RoleCode of “1”indicates a predecessor.

<BusinessTransactionDocumentReference> <ID>4711</ID><TypeCode>72</TypeCode> <RoleCode>1</RoleCode></BusinessTransactionDocumentReference>

In some implementations, campaigns are linked as predecessors,independent of how a consumer specifies the RoleCode. The Text Nodeelement can be used to set one or more text values for an activity task.The following text types are allowed: Activity Body and InternalComment. In some implementations, one Activity Body (e.g., a descriptionof the activity task) is allowed in an AppointmentActivity. In someimplementations, there can be multiple Internal Comments. For eachInternal Comment, a timestamp as a CreationDateTime can be provided tobuild a sequence of comments, as shown in the following XML example.TextTypeCode of “10002” indicates an Activity Comment and TextTypeCodeof “10011” indicates an internal comment.

<Text actionCode=″01″> <TextTypeCode>10002</TextTypeCode><ContentText>Prepare Customer Meeting...</ContentText> </Text> <TextactionCode=″01″> <TextTypeCode>10011</TextTypeCode> <ContentText>Has tobe clarified with Bob</ContentText><CreationDateTime>2012-06-31T12:45:00.0000000Z</Creation DateTime></Text> <Text actionCode=″01″> <TextTypeCode>10011</TextTypeCode><ContentText>Bob agrees</ContentText><CreationDateTime>2012-06-31T12:55:00.0000000Z</Creation DateTime></Text>

The AttachmentFolder node element can be used to add and remove activitytask attachments. Data for the AttachmentFolder node can be presented onthe activity task user interface as attachments. On the user interface,files and links can be created. In the web service request, links andfiles can be differentiated through a CategoryCode. CategoryCode caninclude values which represent a document or a link, for example. Anattachment can be designated as a standard attachment or some other typeof attachment. To create a link attachment, document elements can be setas follows: VisibleIndicator=true, CategoryCode=3 (indicating a Link),TypeCode=none, AlternativeName set to the document title,ExternalLinkWebURI set to the link URI, and a description specifiedusing Description. To create a file attachment, document elements can beset as follows: VisibleIndicator=true, CategoryCode=2 (indicating adocument), TypeCode=none, Name set to document title, AlternativeNameset to document title, and Description set to a description.

The inbound service ManageAppointmentActivityIn can be associated with aManage Appointment Activity In Check Maintain as Bundle operation, whichcan have a name of CheckMaintainBundle, can be synchronous, and can beused to check e-mail activities (e.g., to check if an appointmentactivity can be created, updated, or deleted without errors). In someimplementations, the web service request and response message types forthe CheckMaintainBundle operation are the same as those of the MaintainBundle operation.

FIGS. 33-1 through 33-2 collectively illustrate one example logicalconfiguration of an appointment activity bundle maintain request message33000. Specifically, these figures depict the arrangement and hierarchyof various components such as one or more levels of packages, entities,and data types, shown here as 33000 through 33032. As described above,packages may be used to represent hierarchy levels, and different typesof cardinality relationships among entities can be represented usingdifferent arrowhead styles. Entities are discrete business elements thatare used during a business transaction. Data types are used to typeobject entities and interfaces with a structure. For example, theappointment activity bundle maintain request message 33000 includes,among other things, the location name entity 33006. Accordingly,heterogeneous applications may communicate using this consistent messageconfigured as such.

The message type Appointment Activity Bundle Maintain Request_sync isderived from the business object Appointment Activity as a leadingobject together with its operation signature. The structure of themessage type Appointment Activity Bundle Maintain Request_sync isdetermined by the message data typeAppointmentActivityMaintainRequestBundleMessage_sync. The message datatype AppointmentActivityMaintainRequestBundleMessage_sync includes thepackages BasicMessageHeader and EmailActivity.

The package BasicMessageHeader includes the entity BasicMessageHeader.BasicMessageHeader is typed by BusinessDocumentBasicMessageHeader. Thepackage EmailActivity includes the sub-package Party and the entityAppointmentActivity.

AppointmentActivity includes the following attributes: actionCode,AttendeePartyListCompleteTransmissionIndicator,referencePartyListCompleteTransmissionIndicator, andbusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceListCompleteTransmissionIndicator.The actionCode attribute may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may bebased on datatype BGDT:ActionCode. TheAttendeePartyListCompleteTransmissionIndicator attribute may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator. ThereferencePartyListCompleteTransmissionIndicator may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator. ThebusinessTransactionDocumentReferenceListCompleteTransmissionIndicatorattribute may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:Indicator. The textListCompleteTransmissionIndicator attribute mayhave a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator.

AppointmentActivity includes the following non-node elements:ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID, ChangeStateID, ID, UUID,MigratedDataAdaptationTypeCode, Name, PriorityCode, InitiatorCode,InformationSensitivityCode, GroupCode, DataOriginTypeCode,LifeCycleStatusCode, StartDateTime, EndDateTime, FullDayIndicator,CompletionDateTime, ActiyityFollowUpSeryiceRequestBlockingReasonCode,and GroupwareItemID ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ObjectNodePartyTechnicalID.ChangeStateID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype BGDT:ChangeStateID. ID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and maybe based on datatype BGDT:BusinessTransactionDocumentID. UUID may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:UUID.MigratedDataAdaptationTypeCode may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and maybe based on datatype BGDT:MigratedDataAdaptationTypeCode. Name may havea multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_EXTENDED_Name. PriorityCode may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:PriorityCode.InitiatorCode may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype BGDT:ActiyityInitiatorCode. InformationSensitivityCode may havea multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:InformationSensitivityCode. GroupCode may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ActivityGroupCode.DataOriginTypeCode may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype BGDT:ActivityDataOriginTypeCode. LifeCycleStatusCode may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ActivityLifeCycleStatusCode. StartDateTime may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:LOCALNORMALISED_DateTime.EndDateTime may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:LOCALNORMALISED_DateTime. FullDayIndicator may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator. CompletionDateTimemay have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:GLOBAL_DateTime. ActivityFollowUpServiceRequestBlockingReasonCodemay have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ActivityFollowUpServiceRequestBlockingReasonCode. GroupwareItemIDmay have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:GroupwareItemID

AppointmentActivity includes the following node elements: LocationName,in a 1:C cardinality relationship; OrganizerParty, in a 1:1 cardinalityrelationship; AttendeeParty, in a 1:CN cardinality relationship;EmployeeResponsibleParty, in a 1:C cardinality relationship;MainActivityParty, in a 1:C cardinality relationship; ActivityUnitParty,in a 1:C cardinality relationship; BusinessTransactionDocumentReference,in a 1:CN cardinality relationship; Text, in a 1:CN cardinalityrelationship; AttachmentFolder, in a 1:C cardinality relationship; andReferenceParty, in a 1:CN cardinality relationship. The packageEmailActivity includes the entities LocationName, OrganizerParty,AttendeeParty, EmployeeResponsibleParty, MainActivityParty,ActivityUnitParty, BusinessTransactionDocumentReference, Text, andAttachmentFolder.

LocationName includes the LocationName non-node element, which may havea multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_MEDIUM_Name. OrganizerParty includes thefollowing non-node elements: BusinessPartnerinternalID, EmployeeID,EmailURI, and Name. BusinessPartnerInternalID may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:BusinessPartnerinternalID.EmployeeID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:BusinessPartnerID. EmailURI may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and maybe based on datatype BGDT:EmailURI. Name may have a multiplicity of 0..1and may be based on datatype CDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_Name.

AttendeeParty includes the following non-node elements:ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID, BusinessPartnerInternalID, EmployeeID,EmailURI, Name, and MainIndicator. ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID may havea multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ObjectNodePartyTechnicalID. BusinessPartnerInternalID may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:BusinessPartnerinternalID. EmployeeID may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:BusinessPartnerID. EmailURI mayhave a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:EmailURT.Name may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_Name. MainIndicator may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator.

EmployeeResponsibleParty includes the following non-node elements:BusinessPartnerInternalID, EmployeeID, and EmailURI.BusinessPartnerInternalID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may bebased on datatype BGDT:BusinessPartnerinternalID.

EmployeeID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:BusinessPartnerID. EmailURI may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and maybe based on datatype BGDT:EmailURI.

MainActivityParty includes the BusinessPartnerInternalID non-nodeelement, which may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype BGDT:BusinessPartnerinternalID. ActivityUnitParty includes theOrganisationalCentreID non-node element, which may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:OrganisationalCentreID.

BusinessTransactionDocumentReference includes the actionCode attribute,which may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ActionCode. BusinessTransactionDocumentReference includes thefollowing non-node elements: ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID, ID, UUID,TypeCode, and RoleCode. ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ObjectNodePartyTechnicalID. ID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 andmay be based on datatype BGDT:BusinessTransactionDocumentID. UUID mayhave a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:UUID.TypeCode may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:BusinessTransactionDocumentTypeCode. RoleCode may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:BusinessTransactionDocumentRelationshipRoleCode.

Text includes the actionCode attribute, which may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ActionCode. Text includes thefollowing non-node elements: ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID, TextID,TextTypeCode, ContentText, and CreationDateTime.ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may bebased on datatype BGDT:ObjectNodePartyTechnicalID. TextID may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:TextCollectionTextID. TextTypeCode may have a multiplicity of 0..1and may be based on datatype BGDT:TextCollectionTextTypeCode.ContentText may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_Text. CreationDateTime may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:GLOBAL_DateTime.

AttachmentFolder includes the following attributes:DocumentListCompleteTransmissionIndicator and ActionCode.DocumentListCompleteTransmissionIndicator may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator. ActionCode may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ActionCode.AttachmentFolder includes the UUID non-node element, which may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:UUID.AttachmentFolder includes the following node elements: Document, in a1:CN cardinality relationship.

Document includes the following attributes:PropertyListCompleteTransmissionIndicator and ActionCode.PropertyListCompleteTransmissionIndicator may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator. ActionCode may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ActionCode.Document includes the following non-node elements: UUID,LinkInternalIndicator, VisibleIndicator, CategoryCode, TypeCode,MIMECode, Name, AlternativeName, InternalLinkUUID, Description, andExternalLinkWebURI. UUID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may bebased on datatype BGDT:UUID. LinkInternalIndicator may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator.VisibleIndicator may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype CDT:Indicator. CategoryCode may have a multiplicity of 0..1 andmay be based on datatype BGDT:DocumentCategoryCode. TypeCode may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:DocumentTypeCode.MIMECode may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:MIMECode. Name may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype CDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_Name. AlternativeName may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_Name. InternalLinkUUID may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:UUID. Description may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:Description.ExternalLinkWebURI may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype BGDT:WebURI. Document includes the following node elements:Property, in a 1:CN cardinality relationship; and FileContent, in a 1:Ccardinality relationship.

Property includes the following attributes:PropertyValueListCompleteTransmissionIndicator and ActionCode.PropertyValueListCompleteTransmissionIndicator may have a multiplicityof 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator. ActionCode may havea multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ActionCode.Property includes the following non-node elements: TechnicalID, Name,DataTypeFormatCode, VisibleIndicator, ChangeAllowedIndicator,MultipleValueIndicator, NamespaceURI, and Description. TechnicalID mayhave a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ObjectNodeTechnicalID. Name may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and maybe based on datatype CDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_Name. DataTypeFormatCodemay have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:PropertyDataTypeFormatCode. VisibleIndicator may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator.ChangeAllowedIndicator may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be basedon datatype CDT:Indicator. MultipleValueIndicator may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator.NamespaceURI may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based ondatatype BGDT:NamespaceURI. Description may have a multiplicity of 0..1and may be based on datatype BGDT:Description.

Property includes the node element PropertyValue, in a 1:CN cardinalityrelationship. PropertyValue includes the ActionCode attribute, which mayhave a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ActionCode. PropertyValue includes the following non-node elements:TechnicalID, Text, Indicator, DateTime, and IntegerValue. TechnicalIDmay have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:ObjectNodeTechnicalID. Text may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and maybe based on datatype CDT:LANGUAGEINDEPENDENT_Text. Indicator may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator.DateTime may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeCDT:GLOBAL_DateTime. IntegerValue may have a multiplicity of 0..1 andmay be based on datatype BGDT:IntegerValue.

FileContent includes the ActionCode attribute, which may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ActionCode.FileContent includes the following non-node elements: TechnicalID andBinaryObject. TechnicalID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may bebased on datatype BGDT:ObjectNodeTechnicalID. BinaryObject may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatype CDT:BinaryObject.

The package EmailActivityParty includes the entity ReferenceParty.ReferenceParty includes the following non-node elements:ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID, BusinessPartnerInternalID, EmployeeID andMainIndicator. ObjectNodeSenderTechnicalID may have a multiplicity of0..1 and may be based on datatype BGDT:ObjectNodePartyTechnicalID.BusinessPartnerinternalID may have a multiplicity of 0..1 and may bebased on datatype BGDT:BusinessPartnerinternalID. EmployeeID may have amultiplicity of 0..1 and may be based on datatypeBGDT:BusinessPartnerID. MainIndicator may have a multiplicity of 0..1and may be based on datatype CDT:Indicator.

FIGS. 34-1 through 34-31 show an example configuration of an ElementStructure that includes an Appointment Activity Bundle MaintainRequest_sync 340000 package. Specifically, these figures depict thearrangement and hierarchy of various components such as one or morelevels of packages, entities, and datatypes, shown here as 340000through 340984. As described above, packages may be used to representhierarchy levels. Entities are discrete business elements that are usedduring a business transaction. Data types are used to type objectentities and interfaces with a structure. For example, the AppointmentActivity Bundle Maintain Request_sync 340000 includes, among otherthings, an Appointment Activity Bundle Maintain Request_sync 340002.Accordingly, heterogeneous applications may communicate using thisconsistent message configured as such.

A number of implementations have been described. Nevertheless, it willbe understood that various modifications may be made without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, otherimplementations are within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer readable medium including program codefor providing a message-based interface for exchanging information aboutappointment activities, the medium comprising: program code forreceiving via a message-based interface exposing at least one service asdefined in a service registry and from a heterogeneous applicationexecuting in an environment of computer systems providing message-basedservices, a first message for requesting to maintain an appointmentactivity bundle, including information about planned and unplannedactivities maintained in a calendar of an employee of a company, theinformation including information about external appointments andscheduled meetings with business partners, the first message including amessage package hierarchically organized as: an appointment activitybundle maintain request sync message entity; and an appointment activitypackage including at least one appointment activity entity, wherein eachappointment activity entity includes an organizer party entity; andprogram code for sending a second message to the heterogeneousapplication responsive to the first message.
 2. The computer readablemedium of claim 1, wherein each appointment activity entity furtherincludes at least one of the following: a location name entity, at leastone attendee party entity, an employee responsible party entity, a mainactivity party entity, an activity unit party entity, at least onebusiness transaction document reference entity, at least one textentity, an attachment folder entity, and at least one reference party.3. The computer readable medium of claim 1, wherein each appointmentactivity entity further includes at least one of the following: anobject node sender technical identifier (ID), a change state ID, an ID,a universally unique identifier (UUID), a migrated data adaptation typecode, a name, a priority code, an initiator code, an informationsensitivity code, a group code, a data origin type code, a life cyclestatus code, a start date time, an end date time, a full day indicator,a completion date time, an activity follow up service request blockingreason code, and a groupware item ID.
 4. A distributed system operatingin a landscape of computer systems providing message-based servicesdefined in a service registry, the system comprising: a graphical userinterface comprising computer readable instructions, embedded ontangible media, for requesting to maintain an appointment activitybundle, including information about planned and unplanned activitiesmaintained in a calendar of an employee of a company, the informationincluding information about external appointments and scheduled meetingswith business partners, the instructions using a request; a first memorystoring a user interface controller for processing the request andinvolving a message including a message package hierarchically organizedas: an appointment activity bundle maintain request sync message entity;and an appointment activity package including at least one appointmentactivity entity, wherein each appointment activity entity includes anorganizer party entity; and a second memory, remote from the graphicaluser interface, storing a plurality of service interfaces, wherein oneof the service interfaces is operable to process the message via theservice interface.
 5. The distributed system of claim 4, wherein thefirst memory is remote from the graphical user interface.
 6. Thedistributed system of claim 4, wherein the first memory is remote fromthe second memory.